Wanted
by troublefollows1017
Summary: Sequel to Pictures of You - Set a few months after the last chapter of POY. Edward and Bella are again faced with members of their family being put in harms way because of the Volturi. Can they keep the most innocent one safe as well as themselves?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok this has been dancing around in my head so I am going to put it out there as a teaser for the next story. My husband is not going to be happy with me but I want to continue this story just a little more... I'm posting it at the end of Pictures of you and will also upload this as chapter one of the new story. **

BPOV

Sunday, not exactly my day of rest. Sunday afternoons were designated by me as clean up time. I changed the sheets on the bed, I dusted, I vacuumed, and I cleaned the bathrooms. I was disturbingly OCD about it. My husband, on the other hand, liked to spend Sundays doing anything other than cleaning. Edward liked to play on Sundays. Hell, Edward liked to play everyday but the weekends, when I was home, were his favorite play days. If he wasn't convincing me to go to some sporting event, he would entice me to go out and explore the city with him. He loved to hang out by the lakefront in the summer. In the fall we would try out new restaurants and visit little galleries and museums. Last winter he wanted to go ice skating on State Street every weekend. I had a feeling we would be doing a lot of that this winter as well. If we didn't go out, he would make me play games with him. Sometimes he would invite Renee and Phil over and we would get into pretty intense Scene It games. Guys against girls were usually the teams, unless he really wanted to win and then he would team up with my mother. Those two had like psychic powers when it came to Pictionary. Sometimes he would draw like a line and she would guess Eiffel Tower. What the hell? Today, however, he was working. Working on a Sunday was making him a little grumpy. He had to get some pictures edited and emailed to the editor of Chicago Magazine by Monday morning. He was sitting at the breakfast bar overly focused on his laptop. It was making him grumpy.

I moved the picture of my sweet niece so I could run the duster over the end table. Lily was the most adorable three month old ever. She had blond fuzz on top of her head. I figure some day she'll have gorgeous golden blond hair like her mother. She had the cutest dimples, just like her father. I hated that we lived so far away from Emmett, Rosalie, and Lily. We saw them soon after Lily was born at the end of July but wouldn't be seeing her again until Thanksgiving, another month from now. Both Edward and I were excited about seeing everyone in L.A. for Thanksgiving. Esme was planning a huge family weekend. I was glad we were going to get to spend some time somewhere warm, Chicago would be getting cold by then. I finished dusting and started spritzing the house plants with water. I flopped on the couch when I finished.

Edward was so serious. He was running his hand through his hair and sighed before tapping on the computer again. I was still holding the water bottle and started twisting the tip that adjusted how the water came out. It had been on mist but I moved it so it would come out in one thin line. I pointed it up trying to arch it just right. I squeezed the trigger and I watched the stream shoot up and fall just short of where Edward was sitting. I let out a quiet giggle. He didn't notice, too wrapped up in his work.

"Honey, when are you going to be done so we can go out and do something," I was surprised at how much I liked when he took me out on my days off after I finished getting our place in order.

"I don't know. I have a lot to do, Bella," he answered distractedly.

Not a good answer. He needed to take a break. His famous saying, _all work and no play makes me a dull boy_, was all too true today. I tried again with the water bottle, pressing on the trigger a little harder. The stream shot up and I could see droplets of water hit the back of his chair. Again, he didn't notice. There would be no missing on my third attempt. I pressed down on the trigger and the water made a perfect arch landing smack on the top of Edward's bronze head.

"What the hell was that?" his hand shot up and touched his wet hair.

I threw my hand over my mouth the stop the loud guffaw.

"Did you just shoot that water at me?" he turned around and glared at me, his emerald eyes almost glowing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing," I lied. He turned back around and went back to his photos.

I waited a minute and then shot again. Another perfect hit.

He turned around fast, "Bella, what the fuck?" He was mad but I couldn't help thinking it was so fucking funny. I tried to control my expression.

"Sorry,"

"Bullshit. I'm trying to work here, you know. Go finish your fucking chores or something," he spun back around and rubbed his hand on top of his head and then wiped the dampness on his jeans. I felt a little guilty but since he was demanding I finish my 'chores', like I was his housemaid or something, I was going to continue messing with him. I shot him again.

He didn't move but angrily spit, "Cut. It. Out. Isabella."

Oh, my full name. He was pissed. I shot him again.

Silence.

I shot him again.

Nothing.

One more time. The next thing I knew he was on his feet and lunging towards me. I sprung from the couch and ran around to the other side of it so it was between me and him.

"You're unarmed and I am fully loaded," I reminded him as I pointed the water bottle at his face.

He was breathing hard and his face was flushed. His eyes were almost black. He was going to kill me. There was nothing to do but go on the offensive. I shot him several times right in the face as he ran around the couch and I ran the opposite way. He was unfazed by my relentless attack. He threw one arm up to block and moved swiftly. I was quick but I was wearing socks and he was barefoot, giving him the advantage. I pulled a chair behind me as I ran towards the hallway trying to get to the bedroom before he caught me. Edward deftly maneuvered around the chair and was hot on my heels. I made it to the bedroom and tried to close the door but he was too close. I ran the far side of the room holding my water bottle like I held my gun at the range. He walked into the room slowly. He knew he had me cornered. I shot at him as he moved towards me. I tried to get around his hand and in his face as much as possible.

"I would stop now if you want to come out of this alive, Isabella," he warned. His voice was low and surprisingly menacing. I could feel my heart beating faster as the thrill of the chase was invigorating. He dropped his hand fractionally and I shot him right in the eye making him shout out. His hand flew up to his face and he fell on the bed. I took that opportunity to run out of the room and back in the living room, putting the couch between myself and where he would appear from the bedroom.

I waited. My breathing was labored. I couldn't get the smile off my face. Two minutes passed and he didn't come out of the bedroom. My smile faded.

"Are you ok back there?" I shouted. I didn't mean to hurt him. I wasn't aiming for his eye. Could water do real damage? _Shit._ What if I just blinded him or something? He didn't answer.

"Edward, seriously, are you ok? I didn't mean to hit you in the eye."

Nothing. _Shit._ He was probably hurt and now was really was mad at me.

I started walking back to the bedroom.

"Come on, talk to me. I'm totally sorry. You can shoot me in the eye if you want to," I offered as I pushed the bedroom door open. Maybe he was pouting. Edward tended to pout when he lost at anything. I had to hide the controllers for our Wii for a week as punishment for his poor sportsmanship after he lost to me in boxing one night. He wasn't on the bed.

"Baby?" I walked into the room feeling enormously guilty. I was trying to lighten his mood and now we were probably going to have to go to the ER or something and he was going to have to wear an eye patch. _Nice work, Bella._

The next thing I knew, I was blinded by a foamy spray of shaving cream. Edward had burst out of the bathroom and covered my face in his fucking Barbasol. It was everywhere, in my eyes, up my nose, in my mouth, in my hair.

"Gross!" I spit out the disgusting tasting foam and tried to wipe it out of my eyes.

"You so deserved that," Edward laughed. He rubbed the shaving cream into my hair, making it a sticky, matted mess.

"You are probably right," I agreed as I wiped some more of it out of my eyes so I could see him and his adorable smile. " I was just trying to get you out of your foul mood. You and work on Sunday do not mix."

"You thought squirting me with water when I was trying to meet a deadline was going to put me in a good mood?" He looked at me with a scrunched up face.

"Ok, maybe not my best idea. It was improving my mood, so..." I confessed.

Edward took a long finger and swiped some shaving cream from my face. Then he stroked the same finger down my nose. He leaned forward and kissed the tip of it.

"Next time you could try something like taking off your clothes. That would have improved my mood and been_ very_ entertaining," he brushed his thumb over my mouth.

My husband was so hot. Even after creaming me, all I wanted to do was make out with him.

"I'll keep that in mind, for next time," I stammered. The shaving cream was luckily covering up my blushing cheeks.

"I've got to get a picture of this," he snickered and he was out the door to get his camera. No way in hell I was going to get my picture taken like this, he would email it to everyone we knew.

I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and slipped out of my jeans and panties. I was desperately trying to unhook my bra after I turned the shower on. I could hear Edward shout something that sounded like _NO!_ I got my bra off but the water was still running cold. Damn it. I was going to have to go in. I jumped in the shower and it literally took my breath away.

"Shit! You little -" Edward huffed as he made his way back in the bathroom.

I had goosebumps all over my body from the cold water. My teeth were chattering. It slowly went from cold to warm. I rinsed the shaving cream from my hair and face.

Edward pulled open the shower curtain.

"Hey!" I screamed covering myself as if it was indecent for my husband to see my naked body. It wasn't him as much as it was his camera that made my extremely modest.

"Well, this will make for even better pictures," he winked.

"No, no, no, no," I shook my head furiously.

"You're right, no still photos. This calls for video," he started messing with the buttons on his camera.

I pulled the curtain closed, "Absolutely not!"

I could hear him laughing so hard he snorted. He was such a pain in my ass about pictures. He still loved taking pictures of me. In fact, at his last gallery show he surprised me by having three photos of me from our honeymoon on display. They were beautiful photos of me in the ocean but the thought of someone other than Edward owning a picture of me was a little unnerving. I began washing my hair and enjoying the heat of the water. The curtain pushed open again and I was ready to pull his fucking camera into the shower with me. How would he like that? But Edward was not holding his camera. Edward was standing there naked and was stepping in to join me.

"Both of us are unarmed, Detective," he said raising his hands in the air.

I smiled and stepped back to make some room for him under the water. My husband and I love being in the bathroom together.

* * *

We were lying in our bed as clean as the clean sheets I had put on a few hours ago. Edward had me wrapped up in his arms. My favorite place to be. People had warned me that marriage changed people. That your overly attentive boyfriend would suddenly turn into a selfish, neglectful husband once the honeymoon was over. My husband was the exception to the rule. Edward was always doing sweet things for me. He would get up and make me breakfast in the mornings before work. He would bring home flowers for no particular reason. Edward was a good husband, a great friend, and an incredible lover. I could not ask for more.

I was drifting in and out, exhausted from our play. Edward's breathing was slow and steady and his heartbeat was lulling me to sleep like my own personal lullaby. My nap was interrupted by the annoying ringing of Edward's phone. He sighed and set me gently on the pillow as he got up to get it.

"Hey Renee," I heard him say as he walked out of the bathroom after retrieving his phone from his jeans.

My mother. Edward's biggest fan. They talked on the phone all the time. Sometimes she asked to talk to me but usually not. They would talk about nothing and everything all at the same time. They both watched the same shows on TV and would discuss things like who should be voted of Survivor next. Shit that did not interest me at all. I was grateful for her in that respect. At least he didn't have to torture me with that mind numbing nonsense.

"What? No, I'll turn it on right now," he hurriedly walked over to the bedside table and snatched the TV remote off of it. He turned on the small TV we had in the bedroom and started flipping through the channels.

"What? Did someone drop a cake on Cake Boss again?" I teased. It was always something like that with the two of them.

He didn't smile or laugh. Edward's face looked, worried.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a shaky voice. I didn't like this. Something was wrong but I couldn't figure out why my mom would be sharing bad news with him. He finally stopped at CNN and turned the volume up.

On the screen was a picture of a burning vehicle and a lot of police and firemen around it. On the bottom were the words - Seattle, WA - LIVE.

"No one is confirming anything but we are told that people believe the car belonged to the Assistant DA. Many people who work at the courthouse state that Mr. Cullen drove a white jeep similar to the one you see on the screen right now," the news reporter commented. I sat straight up and covered my mouth with my hand as Edward dropped the controller on the floor with a loud clunk.

"Edward," I said reaching out for him. He sat on the bed and handed me the phone.

"Mom, we have to call you back," I said trying to listen to the news and wrap my arms around my husband.

"Ok, just call me back when you find something out. Oh, Isabella. I hope that it's not his brother," Renee was crying. Something she hadn't done for several months.

"We will. I love you," I don't know why I said that. It wasn't my usual way of parting with her but in this moment it seemed like I needed to say it.

"Love you, both, bye."

I hung up and pressed my cheek against the back of Edward's shoulder. We were both frozen, staring at the TV.

"Mr. Cullen has spent the greater part of the last year putting away members of the Volturi crime family. Tomorrow the trial for Aro Volturi is set to begin. We are not sure what impact this will have on the case if it turns out to be Mr. Cullen in the car. Mr. Cullen is not prosecuting as it is a federal case but he was involved in many aspects of the case. His wife, Rosalie Cullen, formerly Rosalie Hale, daughter of the hotel tycoon Howard Hale, was actually abducted a little over a year ago in attempt to obtain a diamond necklace for Mr. Volturi by another member of the DA's office. Mr. Cullen has worked relentlessly to see to it that everyone involved in the Volturi's organization has been brought to justice. Again, we have no confirmation of who was in the vehicle or to whom the vehicle belongs but there is strong speculation that this car bombing has something to do with the Assistant DA and the Volturi case. We will keep you updated as more information is released."

I couldn't speak. I could only stare at the burning vehicle. What the hell was Emmett doing downtown on a Sunday? Probably had to go in and talk to someone about the trial tomorrow. Maybe it's not him. We need to call him, call Rosalie. I grabbed up Edward's phone again and pressed the button to call Emmett's cell. It rang and rang and went to voicemail. _Fuck. _I hung up and dialed Rosalie. She had to answer me.

It rang three times and then I heard her voice, "Edward, I can't talk right now, I'll call you back,"

Then she hung up. No answers. What the hell was going on?


	2. Chapter 2 Bombs and Brothers

**A/N: Thanks for all the awesome feedback. All the alerts and favorites made my Christmas! **

EPOV

The TV screen was filled with the image of my brother's burning jeep. I knew they were right. I knew it was his. How many giant, white jeeps would be parked downtown Seattle near the fucking Federal Courthouse? Only one. My brother just got fucking blown up, like in some fucking spy movie. I could only stare at the abomination on the screen. Bella pressed herself against my back. She held me and didn't say anything. She tried to call them, at least that's what I guessed. She never spoke. Emmett wasn't going to be answering any calls. Rosalie was probably too fucking devastated to talk to anyone right now. I couldn't even speak, how could she? All the muscles in my body tensed. My brother was the best man I knew. He was such a fucking good guy, always trying and succeeding at doing the right thing. This time though, the fucking right thing got him fucking blown to bits all over Stewart Street.

"Maybe he wasn't in there," Bella tried to console me. It was a weak attempt. Her heart wasn't really in it. I'm sure Aro Volturi hires people that don't fuck up things like blowing up people in cars. She knows this better than I do. My mind wandered to that day 16 months ago when I stood in front of Aro himself. I could still remember the way his voice sent chills down my spine. I could remember the way he touched Bella and treated her like she was something he would love to own and use. I was going to throw up. The bile was rising and touching the back of my throat. I leapt off the bed and ran into the bathroom. I released the contents of my stomach into the sink, not making it to the toilet. I retched a couple times and then ran the water. I scooped some up in my hand and rinsed my mouth out. I stared at myself in the mirror and wiped my face with my cool, damp hand. I was naked and sick. My brother was dead.

"Are you ok?" Bella asked from the doorway. I looked at her through the reflection in the mirror. I shook my head and looked away.

"Let's get dressed and then I'll call some people in Seattle and see if they know anything," she offered, handing me my boxers and jeans. I took them from her and then wrapped my arms around her, needing to feel her. She clung tightly to me and pressed her lips gently on the side of my neck.

We dressed and went out into the living room. She turned on CNN and grabbed her cell. She started scrolling through numbers.

"I have the U.S. Attorney's office number, I don't know if anyone will pick up." She jumped up and grabbed her purse, pulling out her wallet. "I have that guy's card, the guy I dealt with after Mike's shooting. I know I have it in here somewhere," she rummaged through some business cards. "Got it!" she shouted holding one up in the air like it was Willy Wonka's fucking golden ticket.

She started dialing as I laid down on the couch, covering my face with my hands.

"Embry, hi, this is Bella Cullen, Emmett Cullen's sister-in-law. Yeah. Hi. Yeah, we saw on CNN and obviously we're freaking out over here. Do you know anything? It seems pretty irresponsible of them to be saying shit about Emmett when nothing is confir-" she stopped. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. _Fuck._ "Yeah. Ok, thanks. No, I totally understand. Please just have someone call us as soon as possible. Thanks so much." She snapped her phone close.

I still couldn't speak.

"He didn't know anything for sure. He did know that the U.S. Attorney and some other people were going to meet today to go over some things. It's possible Emmett was there but he didn't know for sure. He was headed over there and said he would know more soon." Not great news.

"Maybe I should try Rose again," she pondered out loud.

Then my phone rang. I sat up with a jolt and my eyes flew to Bella's.

"Do you want-" she started.

"You," I answered before she had a chance to finish her question. I wasn't going to be able to listen to someone tell me my brother was dead. I didn't want to have that conversation with anyone but Bella.

My phone was on the breakfast bar and she picked it up.

"Hello," she said after she cleared her throat. "We saw the news." She was quiet for a few seconds. "Are you sure?" she asked as I laid back down, covering my face again. _Here it comes. _

"Did she say anything else?" Bella paused to listen to the person on the phone. I felt the tears building in my eyes. Emmett had it all. A beautiful wife, an adorable baby girl, everything to live for. He had the love and respect of so many people.

"Thanks for calling us. We're going to be home all day, so, if you need us. Ok, bye," she snapped the phone shut.

I waited for her to say something but she didn't; she came over to the couch. She was coming over so she could comfort me when she told me the news. I felt her put her hand on my stomach. She was kneeling next to me on the floor.

"He wasn't in the jeep."

I pressed my hands into my eyes. Wiping the tears as they started to fall. I could feel the tension in my chest. I was going to be a blubbering mess any second.

"Did you hear me?" Bella asked as she gently tried to remove my hands from my face. I really wasn't listening. It was taking too much effort to not fall over the edge. "Edward, he wasn't in the jeep. Emmett is fine."

I took my hands off my face and looked into her eyes. I couldn't believe my ears. I must be hallucinating.

"What?" I asked, sitting up and swinging my legs off the couch. Bella got off the floor and sat next to me. She wrapped her arms around me.

"He wasn't in the jeep. Rosalie called your parents and said everyone is fine. Emmett is fine. They're meeting with the police now. I assume they need to figure out how to protect the three of them now that it's obvious someone is trying to hurt Emmett."

I breathed a breath of absolute relief. I hugged Bella tightly and the tears still fell, this time from the relief not the anguish.

"Your dad said Rosalie sounded fine all things considered. The two of them are tough as nails, we know that. The Volturi can't touch them," she said as she ran her fingers through my hair. Then she held my face in her hands, "Oh ye of little faith."

I was. I was a total pessimist sometimes. I was really good at imagining the worst.

"Sorry," I said, cocking my head to the side. She pressed her lips to mine and I could feel my body relax slightly.

We spent the next hour talking about why this was happening now. Why the Volturi would attack Emmett when he wasn't even the one who was current prosecuting Aro seemed to make no sense to me. Bella figured it was just a tactic to scare someone else. It was a warning perhaps to someone they were currently putting pressure on to influence the outcome of the trial. Nobody wanted to be blown up and the Volturi were showing they could blow people up. We also speculated about who was in the car. They were indicating that someone was in the car but if it wasn't Emmett or Rose, who was it? We had no answer to that question.

Bella started making dinner while I tried to go back to editing my photos. I had a deadline of 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and I was being a little perfectionistic about these particular shots. My head was not in it. It wasn't in it earlier today and it sure as hell was not in it now that I was obsessing over why someone would try to kill my brother. What bothered me most was, would they try again? Would they hurt his family? What about my parents or even me and Bella? Bella kept looking at me as she moved around our small kitchen. I could feel her eyes on me ever so often. She came up behind me and started rubbing my neck and shoulders. This is how I wish she had distracted me earlier.

"That feels so good," I closed my eyes and let her care for me. A buzzer went off in the kitchen and she stopped her massaging. I groaned and she kissed me on the cheek before going back into the kitchen to get our dinner.

We ate trying to have a conversation about anything but how my brother was almost killed. About five minutes into dinner, my phone rang. I jumped up and grabbed it from the breakfast bar. The caller id said it was Rosalie.

"Rose. Are you guys ok?" I said walking back over to the dining room table.

"We're as good as can be expected. I take it your dad got a hold of you guys." She sounded like her normal self. She was amazing.

"Yeah, Dad called and let us know Emmett was fine. Tell him I really appreciate the heart attack," I said putting her on speaker phone so Bella could listen, too.

"Sorry, everything happened so fast. The news people were on top of the story like minutes after the car exploded. I heard from Emmett right away but I switched on the TV and they were reporting about it no less than ten minutes after I got off the phone with him. It's crazy here."

"Hey, Rose," Bella said to let her know she was on as well.

"Bells," she sounded happy to hear Bella's voice, "here we thought you had the dangerous job," Rosalie let a little laugh out but she didn't seem to be finding it too funny at the moment.

"No shit. Where's Em now?"

"He's talking to the police and the federal prosecutor. He's beside himself. He sent one of his assistants out to get them something to eat, gave him the keys to his jeep-" she couldn't finish.

That answered the question we couldn't answer earlier.

"Oh, Rose," Bella sighed. "He didn't know. He can't let himself feel responsible for this."

"You know him, big shoulders, weight of the world,"

"So what are you guys going to do? Are they going to protect you guys, give you bodyguards or something?" I asked.

"They're taking us to a safe house or a hotel for the night. We're trying to figure out what we should do. Emmett is pretty freaked out. We haven't had a chance to talk about it yet. I don't know yet."

"You guys are always welcome here," Bella said, her eyes shooting up to meet mine. She shrugged and made a face.

I shook my head like it was fine that she said that even though part of me was nervous about getting too mixed up in this. Been there, done that. Bella has the gunshot wounds to prove it.

"Thanks, Bell. We'll let you know. Emmett and I will try to call you guys soon. I just wanted to make sure you knew we were all ok, for now," the way she added that _for now_ at the end made my stomach turn.

"We love you guys," Bella said warmly.

"Love you, too." Rosalie responded.

"Talk to you soon," I added.

I hung up and stared at my plate of food. Suddenly, I didn't feel hungry. Bella pushed some of her food around, looking like she was having the same problem.

"Poor Em. He's never going to forgive himself for the guy he sent out to the car," she said not looking up from her plate.

I pushed my food away from me, "Nope. Shit. Am I a total asshole for being glad, though? Glad some other family is mourning their son, brother, husband, whatever?"

I was glad. I was glad Emmett wasn't dead. But for him to not be dead meant some other poor sap was. Bella stood up and came over to me. She made me move so she could sit on my lap.

"You are not an asshole. You're happy your brother is alive. You didn't wish the other guy dead, you're just glad it wasn't your brother. That's a pretty normal reaction," she said wrapping her arms around my neck.

Bella was always saying what I needed to hear. I started kissing her because all I wanted to do was lose myself in something other than this fucked up situation. I started kissing her like there was no tomorrow. There was some guy in Seattle who was never going to kiss his wife or girlfriend ever again. I was going to take full advantage of the fact that I still had that luxury. I picked her little body up in my arms and carried her to bed where we let ourselves forget for just a little while.

My phone buzzed, waking me from my troubled sleep. Bella was talking softly in her sleep next to me. I looked at the clock and saw it was 2:45 in the morning. I got up and looked at my phone that said I had missed a call from Emmett. I slipped on some boxers and a T-shirt, then walked out into the living room to call him back.

"Edward," Emmett answered on the second ring.

"Hey, I saw you called. Can't sleep?"

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"I wasn't sleeping well, let's put it that way. You ok? It's good to hear your voice, you know," I couldn't hide my happiness that he was alive.

"Sorry. I'm ok for someone who killed a guy," his guilt was practically seeping through the phone.

"YOU did not kill anyone. Someone tried to kill you and luckily it wasn't your day to die and leave your wife and baby girl," I needed to remind him that he had a couple really good reasons to want to live.

"They are why I'm not jumping off a roof right now. I can't believe this is happening."

"So do you think it has something to do with the Volturi? Aro's trial is starting tomorrow, ah, today, right?" I walked into the kitchen and started messing with the coffee maker. We hadn't set it before we went to bed and Bella liked a cup before she left for work. Since I was awake I mind as well start making myself useful.

"Probably. Not sure why they are targeting me now. Would have made more sense when I was the one putting Marcus in jail five months ago, now just doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense," he sounded frustrated like this was a conversation he had all night with no answers coming to mind.

"Bella thinks maybe it was a message to someone else. A way to intimidate someone related to Aro's trial." My girl was smart about these things.

"Maybe. That makes some sense," he thought about it for a couple seconds. "My biggest fear is that they are going to try again or try to hurt Rose or Lily." He sounded more than just a little afraid.

"Yeah," I was worried about that as well. That's why I couldn't sleep. I was having dreams about Aro locking Bella in that torture chamber room in Kings and Queens.

"I have to get them out of town. I'm trying to persuade Rosalie to take Lily to L.A. for a while. She's fighting me about it. She wants to stay together," Emmett sounded so emotionally drained. Emmett and I had one thing in common above all else, we married two of the strongest willed women in the world. Bella would probably put up the same fight if we were in this situation.

"Doesn't she understand it's not safe?"

"Oh, she understands. She understands that she could leave and I could get murdered. She wants to be together as much as possible because _every second counts,_" he changed his voice at the end letting me know those must be her words.

"Sounds like you guys still have some things to work out," I didn't envy him that argument. I took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and sat down at the breakfast bar.

Emmett sighed loudly, "Yeah, well, we'll see how long she likes living with Lily in a hotel. A hotel that doesn't have a gigantic penthouse suite with a kitchen, family room, more than one bedroom. I give her a week and she'll be begging to go to Mom and Dad's."

I laughed. Rosalie was nowhere near as stuck up as she could be considering where she comes from but she was very particular about what hotels she would and would not stay at. Obviously a product of being the heiress of one of the largest hotel empires.

"They didn't put you up in a Super 8 or something like that did they?"

"It's not that bad but I can't say the name because it is one of the forbidden words in the Hale house," he was sniggering a little.

"What's that?" I asked, trying to think what hotel they could be at that would really piss Howard Hale off.

"It rhymes with _shmilton_."

I nearly choked on my water as I took a drink right before he answered. After I coughed a couple times I responded, "I thought maybe it rhymed with _chariot_."

"They wanted to put us somewhere that rhymed with _fryat_. But Rosalie told them she'd rather risk it back at the house than stay there," he was definitely laughing now.

"What a hotel snob! Fryats are really nice. I mean it's no Trump Tower but-"

"Oh man! You did not just say that out loud. You don't you ever say that one in front of the Hales! You are so lucky Rose didn't hear you. That name is pure blasphemy."

We both laughed and raked my hand through my messy bed head.

"Oh shit," he mumbled, "I think Lily's waking up. She was all thrown off her routine tonight. I'm probably making too much noise here in the fucking bathroom."

Suddenly, I could picture my giant brother standing in a tiny 'shmilton' bathroom. I smiled at the thought. Rosalie would not even last 48 hours there.

"I'll let you go. Hey, I'm glad you're ok. I wouldn't be ok if you weren't." I swallowed hard. I loved my brother. Nothing would be right without him.

"Thanks, man. We'll talk soon," he was quieter now.

"Bye," I felt a tug at my heart as I hung up. This was a serious situation they were in. Their lives were at risk. There was nothing funny about that.

I turned on my computer and used my sleeplessness as an opportunity to finish editing my pictures. I finished around 4:30 and started surfing the web. There was a big article on the car bombing on the CNN website. They had identified the body. The guy's name was Riley Cummins. He was 28 years old and not married according to the article. He had worked for the DA's office for the last year. He was originally from Portland, where his parents still resided along with his four brothers. Four brothers, I couldn't imagine. I felt guilty again. The family had no comment at this time. I jotted the name Cummins and Portland down on a scrap of paper, so I would remember to send some flowers or something to the funeral. It was the least I could do for the guy who saved my brother's life.

**A/N: You guys didn't think I'd kill off Emmett in the first chapter, did you? So pessimistic, just like Edward...**


	3. Chapter 3 Partner

**A/N: Forgot to mention the whole disclaimer that Stephenie Meyers owns all the character names from Twilight, not me. Thanks to all of you that are following! **

BPOV

I woke up early for work and was surprised to find myself alone in bed. I found Edward asleep on the couch with his laptop resting on his chest. I set it on the coffee table and covered him up with a blanket. I quietly crept into the kitchen ready to kick myself for not setting the coffee maker the night before only to find a hot pot brewing. My husband was the best. I drank a cup before jumping into the shower.

Work was going to be interesting today. I was overwhelmed with worry about what was going on in Seattle and today I was getting a new partner. Peter had passed his sergeant's exam and was moved to a new precinct. I was partnered up with Jared for the last week while his partner was on vacation. He was driving me nuts so I was kind of looking forward to someone new. Jared was one of those guys that thought he was so funny but in reality he only entertained himself. I was used to working with mostly men. I was also used to dealing with sexist jokes and comments. Jared however, thought it was funny to talk about breasts all the time. The guy made a comment about every woman he saw. When he dared to say something about my boobs, I "accidentally" spilled my coffee on his crotch while we were driving to interview some guy about an aggravated assault. I'm sure he was going to be glad to be rid of me as well.

I left Edward fast asleep on the couch but set my iPod to wake him up by 8:00 so he wouldn't miss his deadline today. I jumped on the Blue Line at Division which took me right to Belmont every weekday morning. The captain called me in his office a few minutes after my arrival.

"Cullen, your new partner is due in around 8:30, I thought we were getting a guy from District 20 but there were some special favors called in, I guess, and it looks like we are the lucky winners of some guy from out West. California or some shit like that. I don't remember all the details. He must have some friends in high places, that's all I know," Captain was never good with the details. He was a good at his job but he probably didn't even know my first name. He still called me Swan half the time.

"They gave a guy a detective position straight out? I thought that didn't happen, sir," I answered, confused. Chicago didn't give lateral positions to people from outside of the CPD, you had to apply for a entry-level position. Now I was really worried. People who got favors called in tended to be difficult. That was not what I needed today of all days.

"It doesn't happen, unless the Deputy Superintendent decides different I guess," he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He must have been thinking the same thing as I was. The Deputy Superintendent, shit. Not the Commander, not even the Chief, but the freaking Superintendent. Who was this guy and why would he want to come to the 19th District? We weren't a high crime area. Not a lot of gang or drug activity. The guys in Robbery did way more work than we did in Special Victims.

"Once he gets here I want you to look into this missing persons case that came in this morning," he handed me a file.

I perused through the first few pages. Someone had filed a missing persons report claiming his wife was missing for three days. _Great_. A missing woman, as if I wasn't thinking about Rosalie enough already today.

"Can't wait, Captain," I replied. I turned to walk out but he stopped me.

"Cullen," he looked up from his pile of paperwork. "I saw on the news last night something about some trouble in Seattle again, huh?"

Maybe he paid better attention to the details than I thought.

"Someone blew up my brother-in-law's car. Luckily, he wasn't the one in the car when it blew. But it seems he was the target." I nervously tucked some hair behind my ear.

"Same people who gave you some trouble last year?" he asked looking honestly concerned. Even though I wasn't shot in the line of duty, the guys here had taken it as serious as if it had happened on their watch.

"Possibly. I don't have many details. I didn't even get a chance to talk to my brother-in-law directly."

"You let me know if you need anything," he said winking and then going back to his paperwork.

"Thank you, Captain," I nodded and walked out. That was a heart to heart as we were going to get.

I logged on to my computer and saw I had an email from Peter. He wished me good luck with the new partner. He knew I was stressing. We had gotten along so well this last year but it was time for him to move forward. I helped his wife throw him the biggest party when he passed his exam. I was happy for him but I was really going to miss him. He was a solid partner and I feared I wouldn't have a prayer of striking gold twice. There was also an email from Edward thanking me for the alarm and letting me know he talked to Emmett last night. I quickly sent him a reply.

E-  
_Thanks for setting the coffee maker. It improved my mood slightly after waking up ALONE. I've become quite accustom to waking next to you. Let's not do that again. Did Emmett have anything to say that we didn't already know? I was thinking about calling Eric, asking him to find out the names of whoever is working the case so we can get some more info. Maybe it's someone I know from the West Precinct. I'll let you know if I hear anything. You should call your mother. She'll feel better if she hears from you. I might be late tonight. New partner training and a missing persons case. Double whammy. I'll call you when I get a chance.  
Love you,  
Bella_

I looked up and saw an unfamiliar face walk in. Must be the new guy. He was shaking hands with a couple of the guys. He was tall and blond, nicely built and was probably in his late twenties, early thirties. I was hoping he was married. Married guys are easier to work with, I've found. That was part of the reason Peter and I got along so well. He had a wife that kept him in line at home and so he understood how a partnership with a woman worked. I didn't see a ring on his finger from where I was sitting but a lot of guys didn't wear their wedding ring on the job. I decided to stay put and let the captain be the one to do the introductions. Edward had already responded to my email.

_B-  
Sorry about deserting you, won't happen again. Calling Eric sounds like a good idea. I will call my mother and I'll try Em a little later today. He didn't say much last night. Rose is refusing to get her and Lily out of Seattle. Maybe you should call her, talk some sense into her. Em thinks they should go to L.A. Good luck with the new partner. I'm praying for a woman or a really fat, ugly, old guy. Is that wrong? I'm not the jealous type, really. But feel free to mention needing to get home to your really hot and really strong husband. Your scary strong husband. _

_Love you more,  
E_

I couldn't help but smile. Edward was so adorable. Obnoxiously adorable, it made it hard to go to work some mornings knowing that I could be home with him instead. I would have to remember to mention him a few times today even though talking about my personal life was not something I did very often, if at all.

"Swan, I mean, Cullen," the captain called from his office door. I jumped up and realized the new guy wasn't standing out here any longer.

I walked in his office and new guy stood up from the seat he was in.

"Cullen, this is James Duncan, your new partner."

James stuck out his hand, "Detective Cullen, it's a pleasure." His eyes strayed slightly from mine, giving me a quick once over. Men, they were all the same.

I took his hand and gave him a firm handshake, "Detective Duncan."

"Cullen here is originally from out west as well. Seattle area before working patrol in this district. She's been in Special Victims for, what? Two years?" Captain asked, again, not so good with the details.

"Almost, sir."

"She was a detective in Seattle but had to start out in patrol here. Rules, you know," he added completely for Duncan's benefit. He had to know that people didn't just get where he was without a few rules being broken.

Duncan just nodded and clasped his hands behind his back.

"She can answer most questions for you. She'll get you set up at your desk. Then she'll get you up to speed on a missing persons case that came up today," Captain moved back around to sit at his desk. He started shuffling through his paperwork again. That was our cue to leave.

I nodded at the door so Duncan would follow me out. We made our way back to my desk.

"Is he usually that talkative?" Duncan asked standing a little to close for comfort.

I turned and took a step back from him establishing some personal space.

"He's a man of few words. You pick up on his ways pretty quick. This is your desk," I pointed him in towards Peter's old desk. I was missing the cute picture of his kids that I would catch myself staring at every once and awhile.

"So, Detective Cullen. I take it you have a first name as well?" he asked pulling his chair out and sitting down.

"Bella."

"Bella. Short for Isabella?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but I go by Bella," I stated pointedly.

"I like Isabella," he leaned back in his chair and wore this smug grin. I couldn't figure out what he was doing.

"James, right? Not Jim or Jimmy?"

"You can call me whatever you like, Partner, but I go by James," he sat back up and put his elbows on the desk.

"Too bad. I knew a James in high school. Hated the guy. Gave him one hell of a broken nose once."

"Really? Why was that?" he seemed legitimately curious.

I sat at my desk across from him and put my elbows on my desk, "He called me Isabella."

Duncan started laughing his ass off. He wiped his eyes and tried to catch his breath. He pointed a finger at me, "You and I are going to get along great, Izzy. I can tell."

Great. Right after I break his nose, maybe.

* * *

It was a long morning. I showed Duncan around the precinct. Introduced him to the other detectives. Showed him the case file on the missing wife. Avoided his personal questions, tried to seem interested in some of his personal information. He was from Portland. He wasn't married. Didn't seem affected by the fact that I was. We decided to call the husband of the missing woman and set up an interview with him at his house. He had answered some preliminary questions when he made the report. Nothing stood out, making me wonder what he wasn't telling us yet.

We headed out and right away Duncan tried my patience.

"I think I should drive, Izzy. That way I can learn the lay of the land," he held his hand out as if I was going to toss him the keys.

I stopped walking and put a hand on my hip.

"Ok, I'm not sure what you're story is and I'm not sure I want to find out. What I need you to understand is that for this to work," I pointed back and forth from him to me, "I need to be able to stand the sight of you. Very quickly you are rubbing me the wrong way."

"What? I love to drive, what can I say?" he shrugged and smiled as if he was used to getting off the hook with just that.

"My name is _Bella_. Call me Bella or call me Cullen. I don't give a shit which. But I will not answer to Isabella or _Izzy,_" I shuddered at the sound of it.

"Touchy. Sorry. I don't always make a good first impression. Nerves maybe. Listen, let's try again, _Bella_," he didn't seem to have an issue with nerves, he seemed to have an issue with ego.

"Is it because I'm a woman? I mean, let's get it all out there. I've worked with men my whole career and have had one or two that weren't really happy about working with a woman. If that's your problem let me know."

"No, I love that you're a woman," he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, making my stomach turn.

"See right there. That's what I'm talking about. I don't put up with that shit. I really don't. I don't bitch like a woman, I don't talk about cramps or menstruating, or about getting my hair and nails done. I don't gossip and I don't expect any special treatment. OK? I might be small but I am trained in Akidio and have taken down guys literally three times my size. You don't have to worry about me. I can hold my own in any situation. Including kicking your ass if you don't show me some goddamn respect. Are we clear?"

Duncan held his hands up like he was surrendering and started backing away, "We are crystal clear, Detective Cullen. Man, I have got to meet your husband someday," my eyes shot him a warning glare causing him to switch gears, "but we can talk about that later. You drive, I will just sit, quietly, watching out the window, minding my business," he walked to the passenger side of our sedan.

I unlocked the doors and got in. My phone rang just as I shoved the keys in the ignition. It was a text from Edward.

_Talked to Em, Rose won't leave Seattle. Call her when you get a chance. He is going to lose it if she stays. How's the new partner? Fat? Ugly? Female at least?_

I quickly replied.

_Will call Rose on lunch break. New partner - pain in my ass, so obviously male. _

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and it beeped again as we were pulling out.

"You're a popular one aren't you?" Duncan mused from the passenger seat.

"What happened to quietly minding your own business?" I asked not taking my eyes off the road.

"Bella, Bella. I can't say or do anything right. I will be quiet. I promise," he turned and looked out the window.

We drove in silence to the missing woman's home. They didn't live far from the station, just a few block down Belmont on Racine. It was a nicer condo, one that had been built in the last couple years I guessed. We got out of the car and he opened the gate for me. I wasn't sure if he was being polite or condescending. After the morning we had, I was going with condescending but walked through anyways. I pressed the button for the guy's condo. He buzzed us in quickly. This time I held open the door and waved my arm to usher him in. Duncan let out a laugh but walked in.

Our interview was short. The man, a Mr. Ben Cheney, gave us the same story he had given the officer he met with early this morning. He showed us some pictures of his wife. They had a bunch of photo albums filled with pictures of the two of them looking very happy together. I flipped through one of the albums while Duncan asked some questions about her habits, places she frequented, friends that she spent time with. Duncan was very business-like and asked all the questions I would have asked. At least he was good at this part of the job. We finished up and Mr. Cheney walked us to the door. I handed him my card and told him to call me if anything else came to mind or if he heard from anyone.

As we descended the steps, Duncan shoved his hands in his pockets, "Well, that's a no brainer."

"What do you mean?" I asked knowing I shouldn't bother.

"Well, it was obviously foul play. He killed her, I'm sure. Now we just have to prove it," he shrugged and held open the door for me to walk out. This was going to be annoying real fast.

"OK, I'm not sure how they do things in Portland, but here in Chicago we don't go around trying to prove our baseless theories. We actually gather evidence first and then develop theories," I unlocked the car and climbed in.

"Gather all the evidence you want, Izzy, but I think Mr. Cheney there is guilty as sin," he got in the passenger side and slammed the door shut.

"Let's get some lunch and then head back to the station, Jimmy. I'm looking forward to you putting food in your mouth so you can't speak," I let out frustrated. Today was not the day I wanted to put up with this shit. Who would have thought I would actually miss Jared and his breast ogling? Duncan laughed again but stopped talking. Before driving away I checked my messages on my phone. Edward's from earlier was there and there was another one from Emmett. I read Edward's first,

_Cheer up, Mrs. Cullen. As long as he's a pain in your ass I don't have to become a pain in his..._

I smiled and then checked Emmett's,

_Can you help me with my wife, please? You are the only one she might actually listen to. She needs to take Lily away from me for just a little bit. Please, Bells. One dead person on my conscious is all I can handle. _

My smile had faded fast and I sighed as I closed my phone. Emmett didn't need anything else to worry about. I was not going to be able to fully concentrate on work today. I really needed to call Rosalie. I pulled out onto the street. I really wanted to go home to Edward.

**A/N: Let me know what you think of James as Bella's new partner. Should she kill him sooner or later? Or do you think Edward will have the pleasure?**


	4. Chapter 4 Two Sides of Bella

**A/N: I don't own anything Twilight or any silly songs I might reference in here. I'm not getting as many hits on this story as I would like - spread the word if you like this story! Hope everyone had a good New Year's. Hopefully everyone has recovered from their fun and is ready to read!**

EPOV

It was October, L.A. had two teams in the MLB playoffs and I was in Chicago. I was thinking about going out there for a week, stay with my parents, get some pictures. I thought for sure I'd head out there if one or both teams made it to the World Series. Bella and I were definitely going to go there for Thanksgiving but that would be too late. Yet, with all this shit going on with Emmett and Rosalie I wasn't sure I wanted to go anywhere now. Chicago seemed nice and far away from all the trouble. I could fly out to New York or Philly for a couple games but I didn't want to be away from Bella right now. This was bringing up some bad memories, memories of Bella lying on the floor with a bleeding hole in her chest.

I needed to find some work in the city. I had been spending some time at a gallery just a few blocks south of here. I had my an exhibit there a few months ago. The director took a liking to me and seemed to enjoy having me around. Maybe enough to pay me to work there for a few months. She had a new exhibition opening at the end of the month. I was sure I could provide some service worthy of a paycheck. Basketball season was starting and I was sure I could do some stuff for Allsport as well. It was a good thing Chicago had such a huge sports market. There was always freelance work to be found. I wasn't making millions of dollars but I was helping pay some bills. I liked the sports but I still had an artsy side. What I really wanted to do was an exhibit of Bella but she was not a willing model. I snuck a few of her in my last show. They were beautiful of her in the water. I'd love to take pictures of her in all different settings, show the different sides of her. There's the cop, the daughter, the goddess, the badass. I have considered using pictures I already have but she would kill me.

I was going to start dinner when Bella came busting through the door.

"I'm calling in sick tomorrow," she announced as she removed her gun from her holster so she could lock it up like she did every night when she got home.

"It was that bad, huh?" I asked, standing up ready to greet her once she wasn't armed with a deadly weapon.

"My new partner has the uncanny ability to piss me off every single time he opens his mouth." She walked over to me and snaked her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tightly.

"If anyone can whip him into shape, it is you Detective Cullen," I encouraged.

"Why do I have to? Can't I just have a partner that behaves? That doesn't force me to prove myself worthy of some damn respect?" she turned her head and placed her forehead firmly on my chest.

I put my hand under her chin and tilted her head up so I could look her in the eye, "You just stand your ground. He'll come around sooner or later. Once he really gets to know you and sees that you're the real deal, he'll change his tune." I kissed her sweet mouth.

I hated that she was a cop sometimes. It made it impossible for me, at times like this, to be protective of her. I was telling her to tough it out when all I wanted to do was tell her I'd kick this James guy's ass if he continues to treat her like shit. Throwing my testosterone around would be me admitting she was weaker in some way and not equal to the men she worked with, the exact opposite of what she needed to hear right now. I hoped I had said the right thing.

"I love you," she smiled and got on her tip toes to kiss me again. Mission accomplished. She let go of me and I reluctantly let her out of my grasp as well.

"Now go make me some dinner, woman," I said in my best hillbilly voice as I swatted her butt. She covered herself so I couldn't get her again and laughed.

"Nice," she smirked.

"Don't make me ask again, little lady," I continued and chased her into the kitchen.

She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a fry pan off the cold stove and turned on me. "You mean I have to bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan?"

I was the one laughing now. I grabbed the pan out of her hand, setting it back down. I grabbed her wrists next and pinned them behind her as I pressed her against the counter.

"Well, you are a woman, right? I mean you smell like a woman," I leaned in and breathed in her scent.

"You feel like a woman," I put both her wrists in one hand and used my free hand to trace the curves of her body.

"You look like a woman," I let my hand rest on her breast, her chest heaving.

"And I bet you taste like one, too." I ran my tongue along the side of her neck and then across her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to allow me in and I eagerly accepted. We kissed open mouthed and she pressed her hips against me, getting me more excited than I already was. Just before I was going to have my way with her, her stomach growled loudly. I pulled back and let go of her wrists.

"Not sure that's how a woman sounds..." I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry, I ate an early lunch. I'm a little famished," her cheeks turned pink. I loved that she still blushed in front of me. I hoped that no matter how comfortable we were with one another that she would still blush 50 years from now.

"I was actually about to start dinner when you came in. Why don't you help me?" I stepped back even though I wanted to be inside her right now. She needed to eat and then I could have my fun.

We cooked together. I still wasn't the best in the kitchen but in our year together, Bella had taught me a thing or two. We talked about my day and my progress in finding something local to do. Bella was setting the table when she brought up her conversation with Rosalie.

"So, I think I convinced Rosalie to leave Seattle for a little bit."

"I knew you could do it. You just saved Em a ton of worry and my mother will be ecstatic about spending more time with Lily," I said as I grabbed the salad dressing from the refrigerator.

"I didn't exactly convince her to go to L.A., though," she said biting her lip.

I walked up next to her, "Where did you convince her to go, some private island the Hales own or something?"

"No," she rubbed her forehead with her hand. "I kind of told her they could come," she paused making me stop and stare at her. I couldn't figure out why she was looking so stressed out. Finally she finished her sentence, "here."

I set the salad dressing on the table with a little more oomph than was necessary, "Here?"

"I know I should have talked to you first but she was kind of being difficult and you and Emmett were pressuring me to be the one to convince her to leave and I know there's not a ton of room here but they could stay in the second bedroom and Lily's sleeping through the night more or less so it isn't like she'll bother us and Rose can keep you company during the day when you aren't working and she has a live in body guard with me here," she managed the longest run on sentence ever. My face was obviously saying all the things that were running through my head.

"The idea is to get her out of there so if someone goes after Emmett again they don't get caught in the crossfire, right? I mean we don't think they're after her but even if they were why would they look out here? I know I made the news a little because I shot Mike but I was Isabella Swan and just some off duty police officer. They did a good job of leaving out our connection. So, I can't imagine that the Volturi would think to look here if they're even looking for her," she continued. She was definitely reading my mind.

My hand was on her back and I was touching the spot where the bullet came out of her body. I clenched my jaw.

Bella wasn't giving up, "Nothing is going to happen to me or them. Like I said I think the whole attempt on Emmett was really just to get someone else's attention. I don't think they'll even go after him again. I talked to Eric and he made a couple calls. He knows a guy from the West Precinct who's working on the car bombing. This guy told Eric there will be tight security on Emmett and that whoever is behind this would be an idiot to try anything. They don't expect anything major to happen after this failed attempt."

I rubbed my fingers over her scar one more time then I dropped my hand and walked back into the kitchen.

"Edward, please say something," Bella followed me into the kitchen.

"What do you want me to say? You seem to have it all figured out," I answered putting the chicken on a plate.

"I know we didn't really talk about it but I did mention it last night when we talked to her. Remember - I told her they were welcome here and you didn't object," not her best argument.

"We didn't talk about it," I agreed with that much.

"Do you want me to tell her they can't stay here? I mean, I can tell her your mother will be hurt if they don't go there instead," she said as she followed me back out to the dining room.

"No, you're right. It probably is better for them to come here. I just wish _we_ could have talked about it before _you and Rose_ talked about it," I shrugged as I sat down.

She eyed me warily and sat down as well, "I'm sorry."

I shook my head and started eating. I was too mad to really have this conversation with her. This was her one flaw. She made decisions that affected both of us on her own. She knew it was an issue. It was something she was trying hard to not do but she slipped every once and awhile. Today was a big slip.

"It was a really bad day, remember? I had to talk to her in the Jimmy John's bathroom so James couldn't overhear. She was totally against leaving and it was the last thing I thought to try. I didn't even expect her to think it was a good idea. I thought she would shoot it down like everything else I suggested. I'm sorry."

Now she was frustrating me for a whole new reason, "Bella, stop. I'll get over it. Can you just let me be mad about it for like five minutes?" I ran my hand through my hair and shoved some more chicken into my mouth. Just because she apologized didn't mean that I could turn off the anger immediately.

"I hate it when you're mad at me. And did I mention I had a bad day? I don't want you to be mad at me when I really need you to cheer me up like you were when I first got home," Bella said stabbing her fork into one piece of her chicken over and over. I know she had a bad day, she didn't have to keep reminding me. Having a bad day is not an excuse for leaving me out of a major decision.

"Will you please stop trying to kill that piece of chicken and I'll think about it," I said looking at her across the table. She looked so sad and damn her if I didn't want to still cheer her up exactly the way I had earlier.

She gave me a half smile and stopped assaulting her dinner. I knew I was only going to be mad for a few minutes longer. I couldn't stay mad at her. It was impossible. Bella and I rarely fought for real. We joked, we teased, we disagreed at times. Neither one of us ever wanted to really fight though. We did a pretty good job of respecting each other. I know she didn't do this to disrespect me. She was frazzled and she wanted to take care of her friend. She was always willing to do anything for the people she loved. I liked to think I was the same kind of person as her. The problem here was that my love for Bella and my desire to keep her alive and well was in direct conflict with what would be good for Rosalie and Lily whom I also loved and wanted to keep alive and well. Bella trumped everyone in my book but it looked like I had lost the fight before I even knew there was one to be had.

We ate in silence for a couple minutes. She kept looking at me with those big, chocolate brown eyes, wordlessly begging me to forgive her. She also kept biting her bottom lip, something she knew drove me wild. I had to stop looking at her. I finished my dinner and stood up to put my plate in the kitchen. That's when I saw her wipe her hand across her cheek.

I stopped immediately and threw my head back in utter disbelief, "Are you crying?"

She set her fork down and used both of her hands to block my view of her face, "No," she lied badly.

"Bella, for the love of all that is good in the world," I shook my head and walked my plate back to the kitchen. I came back out and pulled her chair away from the table. She got up and wrapped herself around me.

"I had a really bad day," she mumbled into my chest. I could feel my shirt getting wet from the tears she was _not_ crying. I was glad she couldn't see the smile that crept across my face. There was such a dichotomy to this woman. She was strong and independent woman on one hand and a soft, sensitive girl on the other. I was really the only one who saw this side of her. My protective nature took over.

"I know you had a bad day. I'm sorry you had a bad day. I'm not mad at you. I _am_ freaked out. I can't help that I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. If anything bad happens to you I will never forgive you," I hugged her tightly. Freaked out was an understatement. I was terrified that someone was going to come to Chicago and Bella was going to get caught in the crossfire. She could reassure me from now until the end of time and I would still be afraid that something bad was going to happen.

"Nothing is going to happen to me," she said confidently, as if she was the one comforting me right now.

"Bella, I worry about something happening to you every day you walk out that door." Another reason I hated that she was a cop. Occupational hazards ran amuck.

She pulled away from me and put her hands on my face. Strong Bella was resurfacing.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you. I'm sorry I worry you and I'm sorry that I let my day get to me."

"You are forgiven on all accounts," I said before kissing her forehead. She slipped her hands under my T-shirt and ran them up and down my back. Her hands were so soft and her touch was always electric.

"When are our guests planning on coming to the Windy City?" I asked while tugging her shirt out from the waistband of her pants.

"We didn't finalize anything. Rose still needed to talk to Emmett but I assume sooner than later," she answered as I started unbuttoning her shirt.

"Well, then I guess we better make good use of our alone time while we still can. I doubt we'll be able to do this after dinner when Rosalie and Lily are here," I slipped her shirt off her shoulders and kissed her from one end of her collarbone to the other.

"You are the best husband in the whole world, you do know that right?" she said moving her hands to my hair and pulling gently.

My mouth moved upward to hers. She kissed me back with the right amount of enthusiasm, pulling a little harder on my hair. I unbuttoned and unzipped her pants with ease and then let her do the same for me. We kissed passionately as we both awkwardly kicked and wiggled out of our pants. Once we were in the clear I lifted her little body up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I set her down on the table, pushing a few dishes out of the way with my arm.

"All I know is I'm glad we made up in time for dessert," I said against her mouth as I slid inside, cheering us both up.


	5. Chapter 5 All Apologies

**A/N: Disclaimer - I own nothing.  
Oh I just thought up a whole lot of trouble. I can't wait to get it all down. This trouble has nothing to do with the Volturi. Seems Bella and Edward will make their own trouble first. Enjoy. As always I love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading!**

BPOV

Sometimes I was a crappy wife. Edward had every right to be mad at me. I knew I was going to have a hard time explaining myself as soon as Rosalie accepted my invitation to come here. I really didn't think she'd be up for it. I thought she would fight tooth and nail to stay with Emmett as long as possible. But no, she jumped all over it. She went on and on about how much fun it would be and how we should call Alice and see if she could take a long weekend and make it like a girls only vacation. Great, except that Edward lives here, too. Not only does he live here but he is wound tighter than I've seen him in a long time. He has literally kissed or touched my scars a hundred times since we saw Emmett's jeep burning on CNN. He won't really talk to me about it but he is obviously more than just a little freaked out about something happening to me. I know he'd give anything to go back in time and take that bullet for me. That's what freaks me out - him trying so hard to keep me out of harm's way that he puts himself smack in the middle of something bad.

The worst part is he didn't even make me feel that bad about it. Well, he wouldn't talk to me all through dinner and because of my emotionally draining day with my new asshole partner I ended up crying. Edward went right to work making me feel better, chasing all the shitty feelings away and making me almost forget my own name. I don't think I'll be able to eat at the dining room table without a slight smirk on my face from now on. Sometimes I really feel I don't deserve him. He's perfect and I have more to work on than I thought.

Edward was a little more quiet than usual in the evenings making me wonder if he wasn't still kind of mad at me. He had cleaned out all our crap in the second bedroom and made it an adequate living space for Rosalie and Lily. He even went out and bought a pack-n-play for Lily so Rosalie didn't have to bring so much stuff from home. Rosalie and Emmett decided that she should leave Seattle until Aro's trial was over. They were currently staying in some hotel, guarded by Seattle's finest. Rosalie seemed to be more than a little put out by the accommodations. Obviously, they weren't staying at Hale Tower. She and Lily were planning on flying out on the Hale's private jet Friday. Edward arranged to pick them up since I would still be at work. Alice couldn't come out this weekend but made plans to come to Chicago in two weeks. Edward didn't say anything but I could tell he wasn't exactly jumping for joy over the prospects of being in a two bedroom condo with three women and a baby.

My entire week at work pretty much sucked. James was his snarky self all week long, pushing my buttons whenever he got the chance. My walls were up so fucking high I could barely see over them. We chased down some leads on the missing woman without much to show for it. Time was dragging by much too slowly on Friday as James and I finished interviewing a couple more of Mr. and Mrs. Cheney's friends. So far we knew that Mrs. Angela Cheney was a staff writer for the Sun Times and loved to do yoga and drink Starbucks in her free time. She and her husband have been married for five years and, according to everyone we talked to so far, have a the perfect marriage. They met in college and were married shortly after graduating. She wrote what I would consider fluff pieces for the the Sun Times. Nothing too controversial that's for sure. Nothing that would cause her to go missing for a week. She had called her husband on Friday afternoon around 12:15 while he was at work to tell him not to expect her for dinner because she had a bunch of things to do and would be running late. That was the last he heard from her. No one else we had spoken to had heard from or seen her after that time. She didn't take a car and we didn't have any luck getting a hit on her cell phone, it was definitely not on. I was planning on going through phone records and her internet history on my own over the weekend. James surprisingly was not as annoying today as he had been all week long. I thought we were maybe moving in the right direction. I thought that a little too soon.

"So, what do you say I take you out for a drink after work today? To thank you for taking me under your wing this week?" he asked as he leaned forward on his elbows while sitting across from me.

"Can't," I answered without looking up from the notes I was looking over.

"Izzy, come on. Don't make me beg. One drink," he protested annoyingly.

"Can't, Jimmy. I'm busy after work. Maybe next week," I put down my notes and looked at him. I figured offering up another time would get him off my back. I was wrong.

"Jared, is this how you guys treat the new guy? This isn't how we do things back in Portland," he complained.

Jared and a couple of the other guys all chuckled.

"I'm in for some drinks. Cullen, come on. You got to take the guy out for one drink," Jared responded with a shit eating grin on his face. He probably figured James' looks could lure some well endowed ladies their way.

"I'd love to hang out and play but I'm sure it would take much more than one drink to get my IQ low enough to match wits with you two," I teased and went back to my notes.

"Wow, nice. Is she always like this?" James asked.

"Bella's a ball buster that's for sure," Jared answered.

"Cullen, one drink. You can come out for one drink. I'll come to, then you'll have one guy there able to talk about something other than the size of the waitress' tits or their own dick," Garrett chimed in. I couldn't help but laugh. Garrett was back from his vacation and had already apologized to me twice this week for anything I had to put up with while he was gone. He knew Jared could be a pain in the ass. Garrett was a good guy and always treated me fair.

"Dude, whatever," Jared tried to act offended.

"Come on Izzy. You know you want to come. You know you want to show me how you can tie one on. Come on," James was relentless.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "I'm not going to tie one on if I have one drink, asshole."

"Please, you probably don't even weigh 120 pounds soaking wet. It can't take much," James teased.

I don't know why I felt pressured to give in but I did. I felt like I needed to show this prick that I was not some weak little girl. I could have more than one drink and not be shitfaced. Maybe the women he was used to being around couldn't hold their liquor but I could handle one beer. He was pissing me off and I felt the need to prove myself once again.

"One fucking drink and I'm only going because Garrett is going and he owes me a fucking drink for putting up with Jared last week."

Jared's eyes widened and Garrett let out a guffaw.

"Fuck you, Bella. He should buy me a drink after you dumped your fucking coffee on my lap."

"You know, I'm sorry if that was the hottest, wettest thing that's touched your dick in a while but I'm pretty sure you won't talk about the size of my breasts again anytime soon," I smirked from behind my notebook.

"Sometimes you are such a bitch, you know that?" Jared said standing up and walking out of our office area.

James was looking at me with a big smile on his face, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"You are something that's for sure. I can't help but like you Izzy," he said shaking his head and looking at me with this weird expression. It made me feel uncomfortable but I couldn't say why for sure.

I set my notes down and took out my phone knowing I needed to text Edward to let him know I wasn't going to be home right away. Rose and Lily were here and I was anxious to see them but if I didn't go out for one drink I was never going to hear the end of it from these guys.

"I wish I could say the same, Jimmy, but you keep calling me Izzy and it just makes me wish you'd get hit by a bus on the way to the bar." I paused for a second and then cocked my head to the side and in mock horror said, "Did I say that out loud? Oops, I mean yeah, I like you too."

He laughed and pushed back from his desk. He rubbed his face with his hands, "He's right you are a bitch but I love 'em bitchy."

I felt my skin crawl and flipped my phone open, deciding not to respond. I texted Edward hoping he wouldn't be too mad.

_Won't be home right away. Won't be too late. Keep Lily up for me._

I shuffled through some things on my desk and my phone buzzed.

_**How late is not too late? Rose says Lily won't go down until 9 or 10. Not going to be that late, RU?**_

_No way. Have to go out for 1 drink with the guys. _

I bit my lip waiting for his response. I knew he was going to think I was nuts for agreeing to that.

_**Rose and Lily are here and you're getting a drink with the guys? **_

_New partner, first week. Kind of have to. Will not be too late._

_**Whatever.**_

That was all he said. You can't be sure of someone's tone via text but I was guessing he was not happy with me. I wasn't really happy with myself. I should have told the guys I had family in town and I had to go home. But I felt protective of the fact that Rose was here. Like I shouldn't let anyone know she was here, like it wasn't safe for them to know. It was stupid but it was how I felt so I went with it. We wrapped up a few things and then headed down the street to Big City Tap. It was right by the Blue Line so I could easily hop in the L when it was time to go. The place wasn't too crowded at this time of day. There were some people eating. It was too early for people to be here to watch the Bulls preseason game. Edward had changed his plans to go take some pictures tonight because of Rosalie and Lily's arrival. He gave up work for them and I couldn't even get out of one stupid drink. I was a crappy wife and a crappy friend/sister-in-law/aunt. We all sat at the bar and ordered a drink. One drink, that was all I was going to have.

Jared and James were laughing about something and I knew better than to ask what was so funny. Garrett sat down next to me and we clinked our bottles of beer before taking a drink.

"It'll get better, Bells," he said leaning in close so the other two yahoos couldn't hear.

I nodded appreciatively. He obviously noticed James antagonistic behavior all week.

"He's probably just trying to see how far he can push and then he'll back off. He doesn't look as stupid as he acts," he said into my ear.

"I hope so. I just thought it couldn't get much worse than Jared and then," I pursed my lips and left it at that. Garrett laughed and the other two took notice.

"What are you two talking about over there? Debating who's wife is better looking?" Jared interjected.

"Jared, I dare you to call Edward her wife to his face. He's a nice guy but he'd kick your ass. It would be fun to watch," Garrett called back. Jared flicked him off and finished off his beer.

"Edward, that's the husband's name, huh? Izzy here is so protective of her personal information. I couldn't even get a name out of her regarding her precious Mr. Cullen," James chimed in with an evil grin on his face.

I didn't say anything just raised my eyebrows like I could careless what he wanted to know about me.

"Edward Cullen. He's a _photographer,_" Jared made it sound like it was a less than worthy occupation. "I don't know what the hell he takes pictures of. Probably babies and weddings," Jared laughed and I took another sip of my beer hurrying so I could get out of here. I was ready to crack my bottle over Jared's head. James was watching my reaction to what Jared was saying.

"He is a nice guy. Almost prettier than Bella over there, though. Uses hair products I'm sure he buys at some fancy salon or something. Looks like a fucking Calvin Klein model or something," Jared continued and I could feel my face turning red. I wanted to kick him in the fucking nuts but James was between us.

"Boy, Jared, the way you describe him I'm starting to wonder if I need to keep you away from him. You're not hot for my husband, are you?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

Garrett and James both started laughing. James smacked the bar with his hand.

"Why are you worried, does he swing both ways, Bella?" Jared retorted.

"Sorry, he's totally straight. You'll have to find someone else to fulfill your needs. But feel free to jerk off to the thought of him. He is pretty fucking hot," I shot back at him. Garrett and James both started laughing again. I didn't like talking about Edward, especially like this but Jared was rubbing me the wrong way all the sudden. Jared sarcastically laughed and flicked me off.

"Damn, you are one crazy chick, Izzy. Shit. To new fucking partners who surprise the fuck out of you," James raised his glass and tapped it to my bottle. Maybe just maybe he got the point that I don't take any shit from anyone. Of course he was still calling me Izzy and I wanted to rip his tongue out of his mouth but maybe we were making some progress. I finished my beer and started to get off my barstool.

"Whoa, where are you going?" James said grabbing my arm. I was startled by his touch. I yanked my arm from his grasp.

"One drink. I'm going home. Goodbye, good evening. See you guys on Monday," I said nodding to Garrett and Jared at the other end even though he wasn't looking at me, he was pouting probably still trying to think of a good comeback.

"I said I was going to buy you a drink and I plan to do just that. You can't leave without me buying you one drink, partner," James pointed a finger at me and called the bartender back over ordering me another drink.

"I really need to go," I protested.

"Your CK model husband will still be there after one more drink, won't he?" he squinted his eyes at me like it was a challenge or something. He was daring me to stay and I didn't like it that I felt like I needed to meet his challenge.

"To new partners who hopefully won't annoy the fuck out of you every week, just the first," I said picking the new bottle off the bar and hitting his glass with it.

"Oh, if I had only been that lucky," Garrett sighed as he raised his glass. The three of us busted out laughing again. Jared held his bottle up with a confused look on his face. Finally he realized what Garrett meant.

"Hey, you fucking prick," he whined, flicking Garrett off again.

"Is that all you know how to do? Raise your middle finger? We have got to work on your comebacks, man," James said putting a hand on Jared's shoulder. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. I missed Peter.

I finished my beer and this time was not going to be talked into staying for anymore. I said my goodbyes and headed for the L. I caught a train within minutes and was home in ten. I was so excited to see Rosalie and Lily. I opened the door and found them all sitting in the living room. Edward was holding Lily over his head and was making her smile and coo at him. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. Suddenly I felt bad for even spending one more second away from him than was necessary. I silently promised myself that I would not feel the need to prove myself every freaking second at work anymore. What those guys thought of me was nothing compared to what the people in this room thought. I quickly secured my gun and was immediately grabbed up in Rosalie's arms.

"Bells!" she shrieked as she hugged me close. There seemed to be a little more behind her hug than usual. Rosalie was tough but what almost happened to Emmett must be taking a toll on her. I hugged her back with as much as I could give.

"Ok, I love you but I want to hold that baby." I walked into the kitchen to wash my hands. I didn't want to expose Lily to anything that I might have picked up at that bar.

"Get your own," Edward called from the couch where he was still making faces at Lily and making her make the cutest sounds I have ever heard.

"Well, Mr. Cullen if you want me to have my own I need your help. So either hand me that baby or give her back to her mother so you can help me make one," I said sitting down next to him with my hands out ready for him to hand her over.

Instead, he got up and handed Lily off to Rosalie and lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder.

"We'll be right back, Rosalie. You might want to turn on the TV, she's a screamer," he called over his shoulder.

Rosalie started laughing as I swatted his butt and struggled to get down.

"Put me down you maniac," I said hitting him a couple more times.

He walked me back into the room and set me on the couch. I looked at him and smiled. He returned my smile but it didn't reach his eyes like normal. He was still a little mad at me. He leaned down and kissed me chastely on the lips.

"Welcome home," he whispered.

I smiled again and could kick myself for not coming straight home. I would make it up to him somehow. I wasn't always a screamer, I could be quiet. Sometimes.

Rosalie handed Lily over to me. She was the most adorable baby. Not that I had a ton of experience with babies but she had to be the cutest one I have ever seen. She was so much bigger than the last time we saw her and her hair was growing in more. Rosalie had some god awful bow on her head. Why did babies need hair accessories?

"How was the flight?" I asked not looking away from the baby in my arms.

"Can't complain. I got the window seat. Just wish your stupid mayor hadn't shut down Meigs Field. Us rich folk really appreciated the ability to fly directly into the downtown area, you know," she winked as I looked up at her with a frown.

"Well, he's a democrat. He hates the rich," I shrugged and smiled back at Lily.

We spent the rest of the evening catching up and did a good job of keeping the conversation away from the car bombing and the the real reason she was here. I guess that was a conversation for another day. We drank a couple bottles of wine while we ate some real Chicago style pizza. Rosalie put Lily down after she fell asleep on my shoulder. Edward got up and started cleaning up. I joined him and realized the silence was kind of killing me.

"Sorry for not coming home right away. I let myself be bullied. It won't happen again," I said as we both carried garbage into the kitchen.

"You don't have to apologize to me," he said not making eye contact.

"I do," I said grabbing his arm and waiting for him to look at me. He turned his head and his green eyes made me want to melt.

"You don't. I'm not mad. I was just, disappointed. No biggie. You're here now. You'll be home all weekend. I have no complaints," he kissed me deeper this time and I almost believed him.

Rosalie walked into the kitchen holding the empty wine glasses.

"Oops. Sorry," she cringed and crept in enough to set the glasses on the counter.

"We're going to have to get use to that, huh?" Edward asked raising his eyebrows. I could see him holding back what he really wanted to say. Not only was Rosalie being here a worry for him because of the potential danger it posed but we had only been married four months and now we had a roommate. Not really newlywed friendly.

"Sorry," I whispered because I didn't know what else to say.

He pressed his lips to my forehead and turned to walk out of the kitchen. "Seems to be your new favorite word," he said over his shoulder.

I pressed my back up against the refrigerator and hit my head on it a couple times. It did seem like I was saying that all the time recently. Sometimes I was a crappy wife.


	6. Chapter 6 Fear and Opportunity

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. **

**Special thanks to o0s0o and melferd who's reviews make me so happy and whose ideas spur me on to rethink where this is headed... I think we need some more bad guys. I wasn't lying when I said Bella and Edward have more to worry about than who the Volturi might be sending to get them or Rose. Check out my profile to see some new links to pictures of certain things from this chapter! **

_Yes it's true that I believe_

_I'm weaker than I used to be_

_I wear my heart out on my sleeve_

_And I forget the rest of me_

_Yes there's times I've been afraid_

_And there's no harm in that I pray_

_Cuz I'm more frightened everyday_

_Someone will take the hope I have away_

Stop- Matchbox 20

EPOV

"I'm not sure how you two share a bathroom, man," I teased as I made my way back to the bedroom so Rosalie couldn't hear me, "she has literally taken over every flat surface in the guest bathroom. She has more shit spread out in there then I have ever seen. It's like we've been attacked by the fucking beauty aisle at Walgreens or something," Rosalie and Bella were in the living room gabbing away while Lily took a nap. It amazed me that they had anything left to talk about. We had stayed in all day yesterday and all they did was talk. Those two also stayed up late both Friday and Saturday night and talked. Must be a woman thing. Guys just don't have that much to say to each other I guess.

Emmett was laughing, "I believe it, brother. I actually share Lily's bathroom. I guess I can do that until she picks up her mother's habits and then I'm screwed. I'll be shaving in the damn downstairs half bath, I guess."

"I'm going to start praying for boys now," I said sprawling on my bed, getting comfortable, and drinking some gatorade.

"You and Bells thinking about starting a family already?"

Answering his question was not as easy as it would have been a week ago. I hadn't really thought about having kids until Lily was here and I realized how beautiful my wife looked with a sweet baby in her arms. Still, I was too selfish to share my Bella just yet. There was so much more I wanted to do as a couple before we had a family.

"Not anytime soon. We've been married what, four months? I think we'll enjoy being married a little longer before we start throwing kids in the mix. Not to mention you have to have sex to make a baby and since the Cullen Women Invasion of 2009 I doubt that will be happening any time soon. Maybe mom will fly out and I can become completely celibate," I wasn't complaining, oh wait yes I was.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking my girls in, Edward. You guys didn't have to offer and I can't thank you enough," Emmett was so full of sincerity it was enough to make me want to kick myself for whining. To add to my guilt he added, "At least your wife gets to sleep in your bed, at least she's living in the same fucking state."

Emmett was hurting. I knew he wanted to get Rosalie out of Seattle but I was also sure he was missing her and Lily like a madman.

"You're right. So what's new out there? Have they figured out anything?" It frustrated me that someone could blow up a car outside a courthouse in the middle of the day and no one saw anything. The guy just completely got away with it.

He hesitated and then said, "They got nothing still. I wish we could find this guy and then link him to Aro so we could have another reason to lock that guy up forever."

I couldn't agree more. The sooner that guy was behind bars permanently the more at ease I would be.

Emmett continued, "I drove down to Portland and went to Riley's funeral. That was pretty brutal. His mother was so nice and all I wanted her to do was yell at me or kick me out of there. But the whole family was too kind. I don't know if it made me feel better or worse, you know?"

"I know. You shouldn't feel bad though. They know that it wasn't your fault. You're the only one that can't seem to get that through your thick skull."

"It's hard not to feel that way. If I hadn't sent him to get food. If I hadn't offered my jeep," he lamented.

"If, if, if. There are a million ifs that could have changed what happened, Emmett, and most of them have nothing to do with any choices you made. It was a terrible thing but no way was it your fault. No way." I wish I could see his face so I knew if he was really hearing me or not.

"How are my girls doing?" he changed the subject. That meant he heard what I said but didn't want to accept it yet.

"Lily is the cutest damn thing I have ever set eyes on, man. Good thing she takes after her mother and her exceptionally good looking uncle," I tried lightening the mood.

"Ha, ha. Did you see those dimples? She is all me. I miss her like crazy. They grow so fucking fast I just feel like when they can finally come back she's going to be so different," he was back to feeling bad for himself. He also sounded a little off. Something else was bothering him but I wasn't sure how to get it out of him.

"You could always come out here. Plus you'll see them in a few weeks at Thanksgiving," I reminded him.

He didn't answer back right away. I heard him sigh and then hesitantly reply, "I don't think Rosalie should leave Chicago anytime soon. That's kind of why I wanted to talk to you first."

Ah, there was something else going on. I shifted on the bed and rearranged the pillows behind me. Taking a long sip of gatorade I braced myself for what he was going to say. He was eerily quiet.

"What? You're killing me here," I almost shouted flailing my arms a little too much and spilling my drink on my T-shirt.

"There's been some other stuff going on here," he began but then stopped again.

_Shit it must be bad._ He really was killing me. I slipped myself out of my shirt because I couldn't stand the wet and the cold.

"Em, just tell me," I said restraining myself from shouting at him.

"There was an accident. A woman, the wife of someone on the jury actually, was driven off the road and she was seriously injured. She's in a coma. They aren't sure if she's going to make it," he voice was so unsteady. I wasn't sure I was going to find mine. "There's no proof. But I know. I know they did this. I just want Rose and Lily as far away from here as possible, moving around as little as possible."

I've never been so glad that we only owned one car and we only used it to go to Renee's. Thank god for public transportation. The Volturi couldn't bring down the CTA could they?

"That's, that's terrible. You're right, I think maybe we all should stay put." I shifted uncomfortably again and ran my hand through my hair for the millionth time. We should stay put, however, moving to Europe began sounding like a reasonable solution as well.

Bella walked in the room as Emmett went on about being afraid to tell Rose and so on. She wasn't paying any attention to me at first as she started to go towards her dresser. Then she suddenly stopped and turned to look at me. I saw a hint of a smile on her lips and I swear she started to blush. She eyebrows shot up in surprise, maybe. I looked down at my bare chest and realized that she was reacting to my shirtlessness. My wife was easily aroused. Of course, had the tables been turned and I walked in on her sitting on our bed without a shirt on I probably would have done more than gawk. I shrugged at her.

"You know what I mean?" Emmett asked. _Damn ADD_. I had no idea what he said but I agreed with him anyways.

"So, just take good care of everybody over there, Edward. I'm sorry I can't do it myself. I hate asking you to take care of my family when that's my responsibility," he was back to his woeful self.

"Don't thank me. You are taking care of your family, Em. You are seeing to it that they are kept out of the mess. You should probably talk to Rosalie now. I'm sure she thinks I've hogged the phone long enough," I said noticing Bella had snapped out of her stupor and was rummaging through one of her dresser drawers.

"I'll talk to you soon, buddy," Emmett said as I eased off the bed and down the hall to give the phone to Rosalie. She didn't bat an eye at my half naked body, she just grabbed the phone out of my hand and started talking a mile a minute to Emmett. I scratched my head and walked back to my room to get a shirt.

"Why were you talking to Emmett without a shirt on?" Bella asked as I walked back in the room. She was sitting on the bed putting some big, furry socks on.

"Are you cold?" I asked noticing she was wearing a CPD sweatshirt over a t-shirt and some yoga pants along with the silly socks.

"Don't answer my question with a question," she smirked standing up and walking my way.

"You hate that, don't you?" I asked knowing it would provoke her further.

She tried to control the smile that was taking over, "Mr. Cullen. Really, you know better." She was standing before me running her fingers lightly over my abs. I was happy that I did my sit-ups this morning.

"I spilled my drink on my shirt. I was too involved in my conversation to get up and get a new one," I said trying my hardest to find some skin under all those layers she was wearing. I reached my hand under the back of her sweatshirt and found what I was looking for. Both of her hands began to gently roam my chest. She felt divine both where she touched me and where I touched her.

"Hmm," was all she could reply before her mouth crashed into mine. Her hands moved to my neck and she began to wrap her fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck. My need for her was so strong. I had gone to bed by myself the last two nights and fell asleep before she even came to bed both times. Then she got up early both mornings when she heard Rosalie get up with Lily. There had been so little Edward and Bella time.

"I think she'll be on the phone for awhile," she whispered pulling her mouth from mine just enough to get the words out. The hidden meaning behind those words was not lost on me.

"I don't know, can you be quiet?" I whispered and then smiled under her kiss.

"Let's find out," she said pulling me towards the bed after locking the bedroom door.

It was easier than expected to get her out of all those layers and under the covers of our bed. I let her keep her furry socks on since she had just put them on and I wasn't a fan of cold feet. The rest of her was warm and I was desperate to feel her wrapped all around me. We kissed and both tried to keep our moans and groans low. When I finally found my place between her legs I pressed my mouth into her neck to muffle the sound that escaped from the sheer pleasure. I wanted to stay focused on her, I wanted to only think about how she felt and smelled, how she tasted and sounded. But the things my brother had said were weighing heavy. The Volturi were trying to kill people that had nothing to do with this whole mess. They were willing to kill women. For all we knew they would have no qualms killing children as well. Bella was moving her hips in perfect rhythm with mine making it hard to think clearly. Her eyes looked into mine with such love and want. I could not imagine anything happening to her. I would not let anything happen to her. She was mine and no one was ever going to take her away from me. Dizzy and in a fog of lust and need, fear and anxiety; my release came much too soon. Once Bella let go, I followed no mattered how hard I tried to hold back. She laid beneath me breathing heavy. She peppered my shoulder with light kisses until I finally rolled off of her. I held her tight to me and she went back to running her fingers over my chest gently.

"Looks like we can be fairly quiet. We need to have Rosalie call Emmett every night, twice on the weekends," she giggled.

I stared up at the ceiling wrestling with the different emotions running through me. It struck me how strong my fear was. The emotion I, for so long, had no real use for was now my constant companion. My father had been right. I spent my whole life not really caring about too much. Now that I had something, some_one_, caring was all I did. I cared so much about Bella it hurt.

"What's going on in there?" Bella asked lifting her head up. She brushed my hair out of the way so she could look me in the eye.

I shook off my haunting thoughts.

"Nothing. I mean, I don't know. Emmett said that there has been some more trouble back in Seattle. Someone on the jury, his wife was hurt in a car accident. Hurt purposely," I let that sink in. Bella sat up, pulling the sheets up to cover her chest.

"Purposely?"

"Someone ran her off the road. She might not make it. Seems like more than a coincidence, doesn't it?" A familiar anxiety flared in her eyes. I knew what she was thinking.

She laid her head back down on me and pressed herself a little closer. I wrapped both my arms around her and closed my eyes. We should talk about this I kept telling myself. Bella and I needed to talk about what was going on. I waited for her to start but she didn't. I wasn't sure what I should say. Should I tell her I was scared out of my mind? I'm the man, I'm supposed to be the strong one. If I freak out she'll try even harder to be strong and I'll never know how she's really feeling. So instead we laid in silence until we could hear Rosalie telling Emmett she missed him so much and he better call soon. Bella extricated herself from me and started putting all her layers back on. I slid back into my jeans and went to the closet to get a new shirt. Our two minute conversation had removed any trace of an after-sex glow. We walked out to join Rose in the living room.

"Someone was beeping in while I was talking to Em," Rosalie said as she handed me my phone back. I saw her wipe her fingers under her eye. Rosalie was so strong, almost as strong as Bella, but this was all getting to her as well. Emmett must have told her about the car accident.

"Are you ok?" Bella asked her as they both sank into our worn out couch.

Rosalie nodded but I could see her swallow hard. She was so _not_ ok that she couldn't even speak, which I knew had not been an issue up until now.

"Everything is going to be fine. Emmett is going to be fine. You and Lily are going to be fine," Bella said with some force behind her words. She put her hand on Rosalie's knee.

I wanted to agree with her. I wanted to say _Listen to Bella. She's absolutely right. _But I couldn't make myself do it. There was this horrible doubt that was almost suffocating me. I opened my phone and started pressing buttons to find out who had called. There was a call from Victoria Sullivan, the director at the gallery that housed my last show. I had called her earlier in the week, letting her know I was looking for something to do for whatever pay possible.

I walked back to our bedroom again and called Victoria. She informed me that it seemed we both had something the other needed. I needed some work. Charles, her assistant had injured his arm and was not able to help her take down the current exhibit and set up the next one. She needed a big, strong man to come help her. Those were her words not mine. I agreed to come down and help, leaving Bella and Rosalie alone to discuss what was bothering Rose.

It was a pretty mild day considering my wife was bundled up at home like we lived in fucking Antarctica or something. I decided to walk and get some fresh air. It felt good to have the wind hit my face and the cool air fill my lungs. I tried to remember what it was like when I used to walk these streets carefree. It didn't seem possible that it was only one week ago that everything changed. Riley Cummins blew up in my brother's jeep and now I had Emmett's wife and baby in my charge. Bella was more guarded than usual and every day this week seemed to have a harder time letting her walls down when she got home from work. Her new partner was pissing her off. I understood that much. Why he was pissing her off, what he was doing to piss her off, I had no clue. She wouldn't let me in and it was discouraging. We were partners. We were supposed to be there for each other. I was there but she wasn't letting me in. At the same time, I wasn't telling her how fucking scared I was feeling. Denial is God's gift to us chickenshits.

I turned the corner after walking a few blocks south and knocked on the door to the Victoria Sullivan Gallery. The gallery was closed Sunday and Mondays. It was a beautiful gallery. The wood floors, the high ceilings. The simple white walls covered in some of my favorite photographs. Victoria's gallery was one of the first bigger galleries to accept some of my work. She also had a website which featured local photographers and I had been lucky enough to have some of my photos displayed there.

Charles, the assistant director, was standing near the door and unlocked it to let me in. He was wearing a sling and had his arm.

"Edward, you are a life saver," Charles said as he held the door open for me.

"What'd you do there, cowboy?" I asked as my eyebrows pinched together.

"Don't ask. But if anyone tells you that playing naked Twister after having a very relaxing oil massage is not dangerous, they're lying," he said quietly, leaning in and nodding like he was telling me some life saving information.

I let out a nervous laugh and patted him on his good shoulder, "Thanks for that. I'll keep that in mind the next time my wife starts getting any ideas." Great. I knew that Charles batted for the other team but I tried my best to never think about what that might entail. Now some disturbing visuals were swimming in my head.

"Edward," Victoria purred as she grabbed me up and gave me one of those side kisses where the woman actually never touches you with her lips but presses her cheek to yours and makes a kissing noise. It must have something to do with lipstick, at least that's what I figure. Victoria was a gorgeous woman in her late thirties. She was the epitome of femininity, with her long, curly hair that was this vibrant shade of red. Whenever I saw her she was always dressed in flowing skirts or curve hugging dresses and heels that could easily be used a weapons if the need ever arose. Today was no exception. She was here to switch out exhibits and she was in six inch heels and a form fitting emerald green dress that barely fell halfway down her thigh. I think if she raised her arms over her head I would see much more than I was comfortable seeing as a married man. If I wasn't married, I think Victoria would have chewed me up and spit me out a long time ago and I probably would have loved every minute of it.

"Victoria. Looking stunning as ever. I don't know how anyone ever pays attention to the photographs in this place when you're around."

She winked at me as a pleased smile curved her lips upwards.

"Always a charmer and still too pretty to be the one that takes the pictures," she responded, taking my hand and leading me back to where the majority of the work needed to be done. As she turned I notice that there was a zipper that ran from the top to the bottom of her dress in the back. One quick zip and that would be all she wrote. It struck me that she wore so little when Bella was back home wearing fuzzy socks and a sweatshirt because she was cold. Bella would die before she would wear a dress like that. I would die if she wore a dress like that. One zip, gah. _Get a grip, man! _ It did take the Twister images away. That was helpful.

Bree, the gallery manager was there was well. We got to work right away, taking down prints and wrapping them up to go on to the next gallery or back to the artist. The walls needed to be cleaned up and then tomorrow they needed help hanging the next exhibit. Victoria was very good at her job. She had great vision and knew how she wanted everything to look. Charles ran out and got us all some Thai food and we took a break for a half hour. Being amongst these people made me almost forget all the shit that was going on in my life. Listening to Charles tell us about his recent trip to New York, laughing at Victoria's stories about some odd submissions she had reviewed recently for the gallery, discussing the value of art and music; all of it freed me from the prison of unease that I had been living in the last few days. As we were finishing up, Victoria rested her hands on my shoulder.

"Before you leave, I want to discuss something with you back in my office," she whispered in my ear.

I tried to ignore the strange sensation that ran through me as her warm breath brushed my neck.

"Sure. I probably need to get back home soon so should we talk now?" I asked rubbing the back of my neck with my hand. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I all the sudden feeling uncomfortable? She wasn't going to jump me back there. At least I didn't think Victoria jumped people, I was sure she was the one that let the guy do the jumping.

We walked back to her office and she closed the door. I nervously stared at my shoes for a minute and then sat in a chair in front of her desk. She walked past me, running her hand over my arm as she made her way to her desk. She perched herself on her desk and before speaking, slowly crossed her legs letting her high heeled foot brush my leg. Idiotic thoughts started running through my head. _Is it comfortable to sit on that zipper? That is a huge zipper. I can't imagine sitting in jeans if I wore them backwards and jeans have a little tiny zipper. How can there even be enough dress to cover her ass when she sits like that? How is she not cold? It isn't that warm in here but if she was cold you would definitely be able to tell. That dress left little to the imagination. Shit. Bella. Bella. Bella._ My hand made a nervous dive for my hair.

"Edward, I have a proposition for you. But before I tell you what it is I want you to know that you are the only one I want. There are so many talented photographers in this city and I love them but you, there is something about you that makes me want you and you alone to do this for me."

I knew the polite thing to do was look at her when she's talking to me but I found myself unable to make eye contact.

"That's very kind of you, Victoria." Daring to overcome the weirdness I was feeling I lifted my eyes to hers, green just like mine, just like that damn dress. "What is it that you would like me to do for you, exactly?"

My curiosity was raging out of control. She was staring at me like I was edible or something. I was used to women finding me attractive and flirting with me but Victoria was more seductive predator than harmless eye-fucker.

"I want you to photograph me. I want an exhibit that is nothing but me. I turn forty in a few months and this is my gift to myself. You said yourself, why would anyone look at the prints on the wall when I'm around? Why not cover the walls in me?" Her fingers gripped the edge of her desk and she rolled her shoulders forward and I was grateful that her dress didn't have a plunging neckline as well.

My hands made their way back to my hair. I was causing it to be an even wilder mess than it was. "You want me to photograph you?"

"That's what I'm asking," she said batting her eyes at me.

"Me?"

"Only you."

I rubbed my hands on my thighs to stop from yanking my hair anymore. I opened my mouth to say something and then shut it. I tried again unsuccessfully. Third time was a charm, "I'm beyond flattered, Victoria. What are we looking at here? I mean, do you have an idea of what you want? How many pictures?"

"I thought we could collaborate. I have some ideas of what I want but I want to hear what you come up with as well. I want it to be something that evokes different emotions even though the subject is just me. I want it to be something that when someone looks at, they really have to look to see that the pictures are all of me. I want you to do this, Edward. Will you do this? I pay extremely well. Probably too well, if that is a concern."

It was a stupid question, really. Victoria was well-known in the art community, not just here in Chicago but in all the major cities. She wanted me to take her picture for a huge exhibition for her 40th birthday. The exposure this would give me, the creative outlet, the money; all these things were undeniably irresistible.

"Victoria, I would be honored to be the photographer for this. I just hope I can live up to what you desire," I bit my lip after the last word came out of my mouth. I didn't understand why I used the word _desire_. I needed to go home.

She hopped off her desk, startling me slightly.

"Edward, sweetheart. You are everything I desire. This is going to be perfect! Tomorrow, you will come here to help hang the new exhibit and then you and I will spend some time together discussing some ideas. Does that work for you?" she asked standing over me and making it impossible for me to stand up without touching her so I stayed seated.

"Sure. That's great. I'll be here."

She stepped back and then around me. I finally felt it was safe to move so I got up.

"Tomorrow it is then, I'll see you around 10?"

"Perfect." I said as I followed her out the door. She stopped abruptly and turned on her heels causing me to bump into her. I put my hands out and pushed myself back a step. "Sorry," I mumbled awkwardly.

She smiled, "I am really looking forward to this. We are going to have so much fun together, Edward. I just know it." She scrunched up her nose and then winked at me.

"Absolutely," I agreed smiling back. Victoria Sullivan wanted me to take pictures of her. Victoria Sullivan wanted me to create an exhibit about her. Victoria Sullivan wanted me and nobody else. I couldn't wait to get home and tell Bella.


	7. Chapter 7 Talking it Out

**A/N: I don't own anything. BTW Edward is not as stupid as everyone thinks. He knows that Victoria finds him attractive. Who doesn't find Edward attractive??? **

BPOV

By the time Edward left for the gallery, Rosalie had put her "everything's fine" game face back on. Her moment of weakness was over and done. I knew we needed to talk about what Emmett had told Edward on the phone.

"Sounds like things aren't getting better in Seattle like we'd hoped," I started off non-confrontational. I know I hate it when people push me too hard after I slip and let my guard down.

Rosalie shrugged one shoulder and started picking at some invisible thread on the hem of her shirt.

"Somebody else got hurt, Rosalie."

She wouldn't look at me and it was frustrating.

"Rose. It's me, Bella. You can tell me if this is freaking you out."

"I'm not freaking out. I'm really more pissed off than anything," her eyes met mine and I could see that she wasn't lying.

"Why are you pissed off?"

Her hands flew up in the air and smacked down hard in her lap, "I'm pissed because this is going to make Emmett even more determined to keep us away from him." She turned her head away from me. "I foolishly thought that I could come out here, make him happy but miserable at the same time, and once he saw nothing else was going to happen I'd be home before I knew it," Rosalie shook her head and pulled her legs up on the couch.

I saw now that she wasn't afraid that someone might try to hurt her as well, she was just miserable without Emmett.

"Rose, you _will_ be home in no time. Isn't it better that you're here and Emmett doesn't have to spend every minute worried someone's going to run you off the road?"

"Sure, better for him! But I get to worry every second that someone's going to run him off the road or blow up the next car he drives or shoot him or Lord knows what else is up their sleeve!" she angrily retorted. I blinked a few times; I had been so stupidly unaware at how much pent up frustration was hiding in there.

"It's not like he cornered the market on being worried, Bells. I worry about him just as much as he worries about me. The difference is he gets to send me away and have some relief while I have to be thousands of miles away worrying myself sick if he's ok. I worry about everything from is he still beating himself up over Riley to is he eating enough? Then there's always is someone still looking to hurt him? Are they going to find him and finish the job? Being here is great for him and fucking torture for me," she looked at me remorsefully and added, "no offense."

"None taken," I shrugged. I looked down on my hands in my lap. I never really thought about it that way. I could see Emmett's side of things perfectly. Protect the ones you love. Get them out of harm's way and everyone will be happier. I didn't really think about it from the other side. How being apart made Rosalie more anxious, more afraid. I had thought Emmett was the one making the sacrifice but I saw now that it was really Rosalie.

"I'm sorry this is so hard, Rose. You know that if he could have it another way he would never let you out of his sight."

She looked up at me with her soft blue eyes, "I know. He keeps telling me that but it doesn't make me feel better. Being with him is the only thing that will make me feel better."

"I know, but it's not just you and him. You guys have to think about Lily, too. She changes things, a lot." Almost on cue Lily started to cry from the other room. Her nap was over.

"She is the only reason I didn't fight harder to stay." Her voice was riddled with sadness. She got up to go get Lily and came out a few minutes later with a well-rested little girl in her arms. She sat back on the couch and lifted up her shirt to start breast-feeding. Friday night she had made me laugh my ass off when she whipped out her breast right in front of Edward. The look of utter shock on his face was priceless. I have never seen him avert his eyes faster, it was like he was trying to avoid looking at the sun during a solar eclipse or something.

I smiled, "She's the perfect combination of you two. I couldn't say who she looks more like, she looks like both of you."

"I look at her and all I see is those dimples, his dimples, and it makes me want to cry. If anything happens to him. Anything," her voice cracked and suddenly Rosalie had tears in her eyes.

"Rosalie Cullen," I mockingly scolded her as a scooted closer to her and Lily. "There's no crying in breastfeeding."

She let out a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

"Sorry, I thought it was just baseball. No crying in baseball _and _during breastfeeding, I won't make the mistake again." She wiped the tears that had trailed down her cheeks.

"I love you, you know?" I asked putting my head on her shoulder. She nodded. "You can cry, you can scream, you can pound the walls, whatever you need."

She rested her head on mine, "What would you do if someone was trying to kill Edward? _**Kill**_ him, Bella."

I couldn't answer. My reaction to the thought was so surprisingly physical. My heart began to race and I could feel my stomach churn. If someone wanted Edward dead I wouldn't sleep until I stopped them.

"Now imagine that in the midst of whatever you're feeling right now that Edward sent you away. Shipped you off and told you to be a good girl and wait for him to take care of everything."

"I don't know what I would do," I answered knowing that I would never have left Edward. I would have fought him to the bitter end driving him and myself mad in the process. Rosalie was stronger than me because she was willing to give Emmett peace of mind even if it meant she would be unable to do little else. I was much too controlling for that. I reasoned that I had more of an ability to impact the situation than Rosalie did. I was a police officer. I could find the bad guy if someone was after Edward. I had a gun, that I knew how to use. Our situations were different. Edward would understand in the end that it would be unwise to have us split up. I sat up unsure of why I was letting my mind wander down that path. No one was trying to kill Edward. No one was going to try to take him away from me.

"I thought Emmett and I had a lifetime's worth of drama before the wedding. I never imagined we'd have to deal with something like this." She wiped her face again and lifted Lily up to burp her. I made faces at Lily getting her to give me a big toothless grin.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. I know it's not where you want to be but it makes me feel useful, like I'm doing something that helps," I admitted.

"Bella to the rescue once again," she smiled at me.

"You Cullens, nothing but trouble. How Edward ever talk me into marrying into this family, I'll never know," I said like I was talking to Lily, shaking my head and raising my eyebrows. Her smile lit up her whole face and she was kicking her little legs and wriggling in her mom's arms.

"Don't you listen to Auntie Bella. She knows her husband is so smoking hot she couldn't resist."

"See, don't fall for the good looking ones, Lily. I'm telling ya."

Rosalie set Lily on her lap so we both could look at her. I found myself wondering what my babies were going to look like. Would they have green or brown eyes? Would they have Edward's coppery brown hair or my plain old brown? I hoped they looked more like Edward than me.

"I have been sensing a little something going on between the two of you, by the way. Don't tell me nothing because you have been biting your bottom lip so much this weekend that I'm surprised it's not bleeding," Rosalie looked at me through narrowed eyes. _Why do best friends have to know you so well?_

"He's been frustrated with me this week but I'm working on it," I answered simply. She wasn't going to leave it at that but it was worth a try.

"Why has he been frustrated with you?" she asked. _Yep, not letting it go._

"You know me. I tend to forget that I'm not the only one who gets a say in things sometimes. I also, _at times_, feel the need to prove myself to people who really shouldn't matter," I shrugged and Rosalie didn't even attempt at concealing the humor she found in that understatement. "We've been out of sync. My head's all messed up, his head's all messed up. I'm not worried though."

"What's messing you up, little Miss Independent?"

"Work is messing with me. The stuff in Seattle's messing with me. That's all, really."

"I don't know why you're letting this new partner get to you. Bells, we work in a man's world. Neither of our professions are super female friendly. James isn't the first and sure as hell won't be the last partner you have that pushes your buttons just because you're a woman. Just like there's always going to be some fucking old school judge that looks at me like I am not as competent as some guy because I wear a skirt, am blond, and have big ass boobs." Rosalie understood better than anyone.

"I know. Usually I don't get bothered like this. I think it's all the other stuff that's making it hard to deal with James and his bullshit."

"Remember what Eleanor Roosevelt said, 'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.' I used to have to tell myself that every day," Rose said shifting Lily to the other breast.

"You are so smart. That's what I love about you. That and you do have some big ass boobs. Is that what having a baby does to you?" I teased.

"You might actually _need_ that bra you wear when you get pregnant," she teased back.

"Oh, so funny! I hear after you breastfeed you're boobs will shrivel up and can even fall off. Have you heard that one?"

"Really? That's what you hear, huh? The guys at the station know a lot about breasts and breastfeeding?" she quipped.

"Well, there are a couple who _think_ they know a lot about breasts. They sure like to talk about them," I laughed.

Rosalie sighed, "Don't let this get in between you and Edward. He adores you. Everything about you. The good, the bad. The strong and the weak."

"I know. We're just struggling with who should take care of who. Edward thought Emmett was dead last week. Dead. He watched the jeep burn on CNN and he completely believed his brother was in there," my eyes dropped from hers so she couldn't see how that affected me as well. I had thought he was dead too and the idea was more than devastating.

Rosalie shifted in her seat, "Oh, Bella. I am so sorry we didn't get to you guys before you saw that. I am so sorry."

"Please don't apologize. It's just I saw what it would do to him if something bad happens to someone he cares about. I feel like I need to do something to keep that from happening. I need to take care of everyone so I can ultimately take care of him, does that make any sense?" I felt like I was rambling.

"Kind of?" she answered like she wasn't really sure.

"I have to be strong for him so he can be strong for me. Of course, I'm struggling to be strong and I'm trying not to let him know that," I tried to explain. Edward was the one person I could be vulnerable with because I didn't worry that he would look at me differently but when he was vulnerable, like he is now, I couldn't put that on him.

"You want him to be ok so you can be ok. I get that."

"That's it exactly. The way he makes me feel when he's happy, when he's carefree - I can't even describe it. I want to feel that way all the time. So, it's kind of selfish but that's why I feel this enormous pressure to keep him from feeling afraid. I need to take this away from him so he can take the other stuff from me."

"Just keep the lines open, Bella. If I couldn't tell Emmett that I was scared, I don't know what I'd be like right now. If he hadn't been honest with me about what he wanted and needed we would be both be suffering a lot worse than we are. I'm not happy about being apart but at least he knows I'm not happy about it," Rosalie was always so wise. I took her advice to heart. Edward and I were going to have to talk about everything that was going on. Sooner than later.

"I'll try. I'm sorry you're suffering," I said putting my head back on her shoulder.

"At least you know how to cook and Edward cracks me up. I could have done a lot worse in the in-law department."

"Yeah, we could be getting kidnapped all the time and have people blow up our cars. Real pains in the ass," I smirked. I'm pretty sure if she didn't have Lily in her arms she would have punched me.

Our problems still existed but Rosalie and I were going to be fine. We would both come out of this mess hopefully no worse for the wear. We spent the afternoon playing with Lily and looking through my wedding albums, yes, albums plural. There were enough pictures taken at my wedding to fill about a thousand albums but we narrowed it down to two. Damn Alice. Edward wanted to buy every single picture that had me in it but I threatened to burn them if he did that so he reconsidered.

Edward came home late that afternoon. He flew through the door with the most joyful look on his face. It was refreshing but immediately concerning. What could make him so happy? And why did I suddenly feel jealous that it didn't have anything to do with me?

"You are never going to believe what happened to me today," he said striding into the living room like a guy that just won a million dollars or cured cancer.

"What?" I asked laughing as he lifted me right off the couch and kissed me. His body felt cold like he had walked the whole way home from the gallery. His lips and nose were freezing against my skin.

"I got the opportunity of a fucking lifetime," he beamed. He was literally glowing, he was so excited.

"What?" I asked again, impatient with the lack of information he was giving.

"Victoria offered me a job," his smile lit up his face. It was the Edward I had been missing for a whole week.

"At the gallery?"

"No, not at the gallery. I mean she's paying me to help out with this new exhibit because of Charles hurting his arm, but no she offered me a photography job."

He hugged me again and spun me around. When he set me back down I realized I still didn't understand.

"That's great, Edward. I've heard of Victoria Sullivan. She's pretty well known," Rosalie piped in.

"What are photographing for her? The gallery?" It made sense to me that she wanted him to do some work for the gallery. Maybe for advertising purposes. But again that didn't seem to fit into his passion. It didn't seem to fit with why he was so fucking happy right now.

"No baby, she wants me to take pictures of her, actually. She wants me to create a whole exhibit of her for her 40th birthday. She's wants it to be huge, she wants it to be epic, and she only wants me to do it. She said there wasn't anyone else she wanted. Only me."

My possessiveness gauge flew into the red warning zone but I forced myself to smile. Victoria Sullivan. I was really proud of Edward when she accepted his work at her gallery. She was really well known and a lot of people went to that gallery, it was such door opener for Edward. Then I met her and _saw_ her. It was one of the first times I felt inferior for _not_ being more feminine. Shit, I grew up best friends with Rosalie Hale. I was used to not being the prettiest girl in the room but Victoria was over the top. Sexy, soft, and totally secure in being a woman. She also seemed interested in Edward for more than just his photos. Now he just confirmed it.

"Only you, huh?" I found myself raking my hand through my hair, like Edward did when he was nervous. I stopped myself and shoved my hands into the pocket in the front of my sweatshirt. God, I was wearing a sweatshirt and yoga pants, and furry socks. I'm sure Victoria had been wearing something very different, Victoria probably didn't even own anything that was made out of cotton, not even her underwear, if she wore underwear. Why was I thinking about her underwear? Did Edward think about her underwear? _Fuck, get a grip woman!_ I looked at Rosalie who looked at me like she could see I was internally self-destructing.

"Only me," he said shrugging out of his coat and throwing it on one of the dining room chairs. He walked into the kitchen and came out with a beer in hand. "She said she pays well, too. Actually she said she probably pays too well. This is so awesome, I can't even believe it! Can you believe it?" he was wrapping his arms around me again and kissing me on the neck.

"I can't believe it," I answered back trying to hide the doubt that was rising in my very soul.

"This is going to be so huge for me. I mean if I pull this off. If I do this well, this could be career changing. This could be what makes the name Edward Cullen mean something."

"The name Edward Cullen does mean something," I corrected him, touching his warming cheek with my hand.

He gave me my favorite crooked grin, "I know, baby. I'm just saying it could make it mean even more than it does now." He gave me a kiss on the lips and then released me from his grasp.

He walked over to Rosalie who was holding Lily. He snatched up the baby and held her over his head. She wiggled and kicked. Her smiled matched his. "Did you hear that Lily? Your favorite uncle is going to be famous! Famous I tell ya!"

Rosalie giggled at him but was looking at me again. My eyes got wide as if I was shouting, _What?_ Rosalie understood a lot of things about me. She understood what it was like to have to prove yourself time and time again at work and how to handle a Cullen but Rosalie never had to face feeling insecure about not being attractive enough. She never had to compete with anyone to turn someone's head. Heads always turned her way. I trusted my husband completely, but from the moment I met her, I did not trust Victoria Sullivan.

We all turned in early that night. I had to work and Edward was expected back at Victoria's gallery in the morning. We were brushing our teeth and getting ready for bed when I finally mustered up the courage to ask some questions that were bothering me all night.

"So did Victoria say what kind of pictures you would be taking of her?"

He spit out his mouth full of toothpaste foam and rinsed with some water, "We didn't get into specifics yet. That's kind of what we'll do tomorrow. She said she has some ideas but she wants to hear some ideas from me, too. Which, Bella, is so awesome. I mean this is going to be what I've been dying to do. I just know it."

I ran a brush through my hair a couple times so my hair would be less of a tangled mess when I woke up in the morning. I looked at him through the mirror, "That's really great, babe. I'm so excited for you."

He grabbed the brush from me and started brushing my hair for me. He pulled it all away from my neck and kissed me sweetly in the curve.

"I can't remember the last time I was so excited to take pictures."

"I remember someone looking very excited when I had a face full of shaving cream," I said trying to keep this conversation light, which wasn't easy given my insecurity at the moment.

"Ah, I was very excited about that. Of course I was much more excited about the pictures I might get with you in the shower," he stopped brushing again to wrap his arms around me from behind and kiss my neck. He was looking at me in the mirror and his eyes were full of nothing but love and desire. I was so stupid for feeling the way I did. No one loved me more than Edward did but he opened the door to what my biggest fear really was so I had to keep talking.

"Interesting you should say that," I tried to concentrate on what I was saying as he kissed me and touched me. He was making me forget but I needed to have this conversation with him. "What are the chances that Victoria will ask you to take pictures of her in a shower?"

He stopped kissing but his hands kept roaming under my shirt and across my stomach.

"I don't know. We haven't talked about what she wants exactly. I don't know that we'll be taking pictures in the bathroom, though. Bathrooms are kind of sacred ground with me."

I couldn't help the giant smile that crossed my face. "Well, this is for her birthday, right? I mean what if she wants all the pictures in her birthday suit?" As soon as the words left my mouth I could see my cheeks turn bright red.

Edward's hands stopped moving and he placed them firmly on my shoulders. He forced me to turn and face him. I stared at the tiny hole in his T-shirt. He loved to sleep in this ratty old shirt. He used his pointer finger to lift my chin so I would look at his face.

"Isabella Marie Cullen are you trying to ask me if I'm planning on taking pornographic pictures of Ms. Sullivan?"

I rolled my eyes. He was making me feel stupid for asking the question. "I'm just wondering what I should expect, you know. I mean if I told you I was going to be working vice and was going to be parading around the city dressed like a hooker, picking up johns, wouldn't you want some more details?"

He cocked an eyebrow at me, "I would not need any details, I would never let you work vice, sweetheart."

I rolled my eyes again and sighed, "Would you just answer my question? Is she going to be naked? Are you going to take naked pictures of her? I want to know."

"I don't know. Maybe. I don't plan on only taking pictures of her naked. If I have my way, I want to be more broad that that."

"But you might take some pictures of her naked?" I asked biting my lip again. Rosalie was right, how could it not be bleeding after the abuse I had been inflicting on it?

"I don't know. Yes, probably. But it isn't going to be porno. It's going to be art. There is a difference. It's not going to be sexual between me and her. You know that, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, of course I know that. I just wanted to know what to expect. Prepare myself."

"Baby, this is the greatest opportunity of my life. I am not going to fuck it up by getting tangled up into some crazy shit with Victoria. I promise you. This is a job. A damn good job. The only model I have ever wanted to photograph naked and then bang the shit out of, is you." His lips were on mine before I could even respond. His hands were back under my shirt and I was beginning to forget what we were talking about in the first place. All I knew is I wanted to be naked and let him bang the shit out of me.


	8. Chapter 8 WTF

**A/N: I don't own anything Twilight. Hit review and tell me what you think.**

EPOV

I woke up with Bella's breast resting comfortably in the my palm of my hand. I was spooning her and thinking it might be nice to spend a couple extra minutes in bed with my wife this morning. Last night, she had basically accused me of agreeing to a job that entailed taking smutty, perverted pictures of Victoria. As funny as it was, I decided against laughing at her and instead showed her I only wanted to be smutty and perverted with her. In our bathroom, of course. She seemed to like my nastier ways. I was hoping for some sweeter, more loving sex this morning but as soon as I started feeling her up under the covers she pushed my hand away and pulled herself out of bed. _Maybe not with morning breath._

"I **canno****t** be late for work," she mumbled as she started walking towards the bathroom. _Maybe not at all._ I sighed knowing she wouldn't let me have my way with her in there this morning even if I tried. So I got up, threw on some shorts and a T-shirt, and went to get a cup of coffee. Rosalie greeted me brightly as she sat on the couch with Lily. I don't know how she managed to look the way she did, as sleep deprived as I knew she had to be. The morning flew by. I had gone over all the ideas I had a million times in my head and wrote down the ones that I felt most confident about presenting to Victoria this afternoon. I had wanted to do something like this with Bella. I had all the scenes in my head but Bella would never agree. She was absolutely my reluctant muse. My stubborn as a mule muse, really. I wish she saw herself the way I saw her. Which is what my pictures could show her, but being that vulnerable in front of a camera was not something she would ever be comfortable doing. Victoria was more than willing. She was going to love this.

I felt a little bad leaving Rosalie home alone now that Bella was back at work but she reassured me she would be fine. The gallery really wasn't a place for Lily otherwise I would have invited them along with me. Rose would appreciate the artwork. Charles greeted me at the door once again and we got to work right away.

"Edward, I need your muscles over here. I simply cannot lift this," Victoria called from the back. I went to help her. She was had a large framed print that she wanted brought out. I lifted it easily and waited for her to lead me where she wanted it to go.

Today Victoria's dress was still form fitting but at least made it almost to her knees. It was leopard print and it made me realize how feline-like she was. Her walk, her purr when she talked, the expressions on her face, all made me think of a graceful cat. Something else to consider when we start talking about ideas.

"Hmm, you are a specimen aren't you?" she said, her eyes wandering up and down my body.

"Are you flirting with me, Victoria? You know my wife is a cop. She'll trump up some kind of charge if she finds out about any flirting," I was joking, of course, but it was probably best to establish some boundaries now rather than later. Bella did not conceal her concern very well last night once I paid attention.

Victoria laughed as she started walking away.

"Oh you wouldn't let her do that to me, Edward. You're too much of a gentleman to tell your wife about my harmless ogling," she said glancing back at me over her shoulder. She was right. I was not going to tell Bella about any of the harmless flirting. That's all there was going to be - _harmless_ flirting. I wish Victoria didn't look so menacing, though.

We worked, well I worked, and the other three spent the morning telling me what to do. "Edward, grab that." "Edward, hold this here." "Edward, take this over there." On top of that, if Charles and Victoria made one more comment about the size of my biceps, I was going to scream. Bree was an interesting character, as well. Victoria liked to look but Bree was a toucher. I have some issues with touchers. A little touching is no big deal. A pat on the arm when appropriate, an elbow in jest - no problem. Bree was a constant toucher. Whenever she needed to walk past me, some part of her body had to come in contact with mine. Whenever she was talking to me, her hand immediately went for my arm or shoulder. She was the gold medalist of touching. If Bella dusted me for prints when I got home, Bree would easily be found guilty of molesting me.

I was holding up a frame when my phone buzzed for the second time in my front pocket.

"Don't you move mister!" Victoria shouted as they were trying to decide if where I was holding the picture was where they wanted it.

"I'm not moving but can you guys make a fucking decision! Someone is trying to get a hold of me," I complained.

Victoria came up behind me and slid her hand right into my pocket. She winked at me when my eyes flew to hers in surprise over the encroachment of my personal space.

"Don't worry, sweetie, I won't hurt you."

After one extremely long beat, she pulled the phone out of my pocket and opened it. "Two missed calls, both from Bella," she reported.

"Calls or texts?" I asked trying to see the phone and keep the picture where they wanted it.

She pressed a couple buttons. "One call, one text. Do you want me to read it to you?" she asked standing uncomfortably close.

"What I'd like is for you to make a decision so I can put this down. I think Charles is procrastinating so he can stare at my ass," I turned my head to catch a glimpse of Charles snapping out of his daydream and smoothing his shirt with his hand.

"I was not staring at your ass!" he tried his best to sound offended but he was blushing like my wife does when I catch her doing the same thing.

"Oh, _please_, we were all staring at his ass," Victoria said smacking my ass as she slipped my phone back in my pocket. She stepped back from me and sighed, "That's where it should be. Bree, mark it."

Bree, the mad toucher, came over with a pencil to mark where the picture would hang. Of course, she was standing behind me with her body pressed lightly against mine, her arm reached around me as she marked the spot. Once she finished she ran her hand over my arm, "You can put it down now. Your arms must be so tired."

Her hand stayed on my arm until I set the frame down and stepped away from her.

"I need a five minute break, Victoria!" I shouted as I walked back to the office area. I flipped open my phone and checked my text.

_I need to talk to you - B._

Not very informative. I dialed her cell and got her voicemail.

"Sorry I missed you, babe. Call me back. I'll answer, I promise." I hung up and turned around finding myself face to face with Victoria. I stepped back, "Geez, you scared me."

"Sorry, love. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I sent the other two on an errand. I thought you could use longer than five minutes. Why don't we go sit in my office. We can start talking about some of our ideas," she said wrapping her arm around mine and leading me to her office.

We sat with her big mahogany desk in between us. I was glad for the breathing room this time. I grabbed the piece of notebook paper out of my back pocket and started smoothing it out on my leg.

"Well, I had a few ideas. I don't know if you want me to go first or if you want to go first," I looked up at her nervously. _Why the hell was I so nervous?_

"Here's what I'm thinking, I want it to be a glimpse into my soul. I want you to find a way to look inside me, figuratively of course. Does that make sense?" she asked, her eyes filled with excitement.

"Absolutely," I answered knowing that I didn't have a fucking clue what she meant. I was going to try my best to figure it out though.

"Like I told you yesterday I want someone who's looking at the collection to have to really look to see that all the pictures are of me. I want to explore all of my...layers."

I nodded, taking a minute the think of a response. I had these ideas, good ideas. Suddenly I felt insecure. What if they weren't good enough? What if she heard about what I was thinking and realized she had made a huge mistake asking me to do this? I had to trust myself. I had to take the risk.

"I think I know what you mean. I have some ideas," I cleared my throat and ran my hand over the piece of paper on my lap again. "I imagine exploring the different facets of who you are as a woman. Sometimes you'll be the main focus of the picture and sometimes you'll be in the background but still essential."

She leaned forward on her elbows. She seemed intrigued. I continued to share some of my ideas when my phone rang again. Victoria was in the middle of talking and I couldn't bring myself to interrupt her, she never hesitated for a moment, so it went to voicemail. Bree walked in, placed her hands on my shoulders, and stopped our discussion. Victoria shot her an annoyed look. My phone went off again and before I could grab it out of my pocket, Victoria was engaging me again.

"Edward, have you recovered from all the physical labor we've asked of you? Charles and Bree have returned with what we need to finish, shall we?" she stood and made her way around her desk. I leaned forward out of Bree's unwanted shoulder rub and stood up as well. I pulled my phone out of my pocket after missing the call again.

"Let me just get back to Bella and then we can finish up," I said waving my phone at her.

"Of course. She is a needy one, isn't she?" Victoria asked rhetorically.

I opened my phone knowing it was Bella who had called. I pressed the button to redial. She answered right away.

"You know the next time you promise you're going to answer you might actually want to do that before the call goes to voicemail," she was pissy but I couldn't imagine it was all my fault.

"Sorry," I sighed turning my back trying to find some privacy as Victoria and Bree both stood nearby waiting for me, "I couldn't pick up. What's going on?" I realized that being here had again totally removed from the craziness that was my life.

Bella's tone was bordering on petulant, "Well, _now_ I don't have time to explain but you need to go home. I'll call you there in a half hour and my call better not go to voicemail,"

"But Victoria and I were going to -"

"I don't really care what Victoria was going to do with you. Her little narcissistic photo shoot is going to have to wait," Bella angrily interrupted.

I didn't answer back right away. I kind of froze at the way she just dismissed what was going to be the most exciting job of my life. Bella was in tough girl mode and I really didn't appreciate it. I wasn't someone who ever talked down to her, I didn't need to be put in my place like some of the assholes she worked with at the station. I also didn't want to have a fight with my wife while Victoria and Bree were standing five feet away. I took a a deep breath.

"You know it's really hard to turn you down when you ask so nicely, honey," I turned to look at Victoria and Bree who were staring at me. I smiled, trying to act like everything was fine.

Bella exhaled loud enough that I could hear. She was obviously trying to reign herself back in, her voice was much softer but still irritated, "Please, go home. I have to call you back."

She hung up before I could even reply. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes for a second. _What the hell was that about?_ I snapped the phone shut and jammed it into my pocket.

"All right, let's get back to work, shall we?" Victoria said looking at me expectantly.

"Victoria, I am so sorry but I have something I have to take care of back at home. Once I get things figured out I can come back. I am really, really sorry," I said as my hand flew through my hair.

She tilted her head slightly and her smile fell, "What's the problem? Are you sure Bella can't wait another hour. We should be done by then."

I felt like an idiot. What was I supposed to say? _Well, I don't know what the hell is the problem. My wife didn't tell me. She just demanded that I go home. _That would sound real manly. _Oh and she called you narcissistic. _Victoria would love that.

"You know, let me make one more call and I'll see if I can finish up here before I go. I mean it's only an hour," I offered pulling my phone out. I could call Rosalie and see what the hell was up. I mean why would I need to go home? "Can I have like two mintues?" I asked, looking back at Victoria and Bree who appeared ready to stand there listening to another one of my personal phone calls.

"Oh, of course," Victoria seemed surprised but stepped through the doorway with Bree in tow.

I dialed my home phone waiting for Rosalie to pick up.

"Edward, are you on your way?" Rosalie said sounding as frustrated as Bella had. You got to love caller id, you know exactly who you're going to be yelling at the moment you pick up.

"What's going on, Rose? Bella couldn't talk but told me I needed to go home. I have about an hour's worth of work left and I was hoping -"

"You need to get here, now." Rosalie interrupted. This was getting a little ridiculous. Really? Did everyone need to talk to me like I was a teenager who went out with his friends and forgot to do his chores before he left the house?

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on," I replied. If she didn't tell me I could stay away all day. Treat me like a child and I can act like one, just ask my father.

"They're planning on arresting Emmett. I was going to wait for my father's plane but there is a flight out of O'Hare in an hour and a half. I need to get on that fucking plane, Edward. So move your ass!" she began to seriously lose it.

Her words sent me reeling, "What the hell are you talking about? Who's arresting Emmett? Why are they arresting Emmett? What the fuck is going on?"

"Just come home. Bella can explain it all to you. I need to get on that plane. Do you understand what I am saying to you? I have a cab coming to get me in 15 minutes. I need to you to come home and stay with Lily," her voice was so shaky and I knew I needed to go.

"I'll be there in five minutes," I said bolting out of Victoria's office and headed for the exit.

"So, everything's all right?" Victoria said as I made my way to where they were standing.

"I have to go. It's my brother. I can't explain. I just have to go. I'll call you soon," I said not stopping as I talked. I hailed a cab and began to process what Rosalie said. Emmett was being arrested? Someone was _planning on_ arresting him. That meant he wasn't arrested yet. Why would she know they were planning on arresting him? What could they arrest my brother for? Emmett was the most law abiding person I knew. Speeding was about the most heinous crime he ever committed, if that even is a crime. I think that's just a violation or something. All I knew was this was making no sense. I walked into my condo to find Rosalie with a bag slung on her shoulder, Lily in her arms, and tears running down her face. She thrust the baby at me before I even got my jacket off.

"She needs a bottle in about two hours. I don't have any formula so you're going to have to go to the store and get some. I don't even know what to tell you to buy because we haven't had to buy formula. Just ask some woman that looks like she has kids. There has to be at least one mother in the store when you go. She eats about every four hours. I don't know how much she eats, maybe six ounces. She'll let you know when she's not interested anymore. There's plenty of diapers and I left all the contact information by the phone. Her pediatrician's number, but of course call me first if something seems wrong. I mean unless something really bad happens then just call 911 or take her to the emergency room. Shit! I probably have to sign something that says you guys have my permission to have her medically treated or whatever, right? I can fax that to you, I guess. Ok, I have to go or I'm going to miss my flight. Take good care of her, ok?" Rosalie's word vomit had my head spinning. I didn't even know what she was asking me. The tears were flowing freely from her eyes and dripping off her chin. I had never seen her in such shambles.

"You, you're not taking her with you?" I asked dumbfounded that she was thinking about leaving Lily with me. I wasn't qualified to care for Lily by myself, was I? Not to mention half of what she just rambled at me made no sense. I was suppose to feed her something every four hours but even Rosalie didn't know what that should be. What the fuck? I need a letter to take her to the doctor? Why was I going to have to take her to the doctor?

"Emmett barely agreed to let me come home. She has to stay here. I don't have any other options, Edward," her voice broke and the tears were falling faster. She kissed Lily about a hundred times and whispered several affectionate I love yous before bolting out the door.

I stood like an idiot holding my niece and staring at the door. Rosalie was going to Seattle without Lily because Emmett was going to be arrested for something. I needed to go to the store and buy formula, which kind I wasn't sure, and feed Lily in a couple hours and then every four hours after that. Can't forget that I also have to change her diaper. I don't even know how to change a diaper. Were there directions on the package? I didn't fucking know that either.

Lily looked up at me with her innocent eyes and her little hand swatted at my face. I looked at her and suddenly felt an enormous sense of responsibility.

"Well, Princess, bear with me here. Uncle Edward has absolutely no idea what the hell he's doing but hopefully Auntie Bella will be here before I screw anything up too bad," I made a silly face and Lily wiggled and smiled back. At least I could get her to do that. As long as she was smiling I would be fine.

Bella called about a half hour later.

"Baby, please tell me you are coming home, like super early today. I have no fucking clue what I am doing with this baby. What the fuck is going on?" I said as soon as I picked up. Again, got to love caller id.

"The stupid idiots from the West Precinct obviously have their heads so far up their asses that they have cut off the oxygen supply to their fucking tiny little brains and are considering Emmett a suspect in his own fucking car bombing," she ranted. Bella sure could fucking rant. She only said the f-word that much when she was really pissed. This was a good reason to be really pissed. All I could do was laugh though.

"Are you fucking laughing?" she asked not finding any humor in the situation whatsoever.

I tried to stop laughing but I couldn't. The police thought my brother, Emmett Cullen, the fucking most honest and upright citizen in the entire state of Washington if not the entire Pacific Northwest, blew up his own jeep. It was seriously the most asinine thing I have ever heard in my entire life.


	9. Chapter 9 Bad Day

**A/N: I don't own anything Twilight. This is a really long chapter for some reason. Bella is involved in so many things there was a lot for her to deal with I guess. Slowly unraveling everything. Hope you hang in. Let me know what you think, press review when you finish!**

BPOV

I knew I was not going to have a good day. I don't know why I knew it was going to be bad, I could just feel it. Convincing Edward to stay in bed with me all day would have been easy. He would have if I had asked. It would have been selfish, though, because he was going to knock Victoria's socks off when he shared his ideas with her. That was where he needed to be today. Still, I was wishing I had listened to my selfish inner voice the moment I stepped into the office.

"Izzy, Izzy, Izzy, I cannot wait to see your face when I tell you this. I thought about calling you yesterday but I decided I needed to see your face," James was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up in his desk, Peter's old desk. Oh, how I missed Peter.

I put the files I brought home with me on my desk and tried ignoring him for just a few seconds longer. I wasn't sure I was up for week number two with the new partner.

James took his feet off his desk and slid his chair closer. He rested his elbows on his desk and propped his face up with his fists under his chin.

"Guess what we get to do today?" he said, enjoying himself too much for this to be good for me.

"Can I please get a cup of coffee before you start in on me?" I asked still avoiding eye contact.

"Jared, get the lady a coffee, would ya?" James shouted over his shoulder.

Jared stood up and I stared in disbelief. Why the hell was he doing what James asked? I balled up a piece of paper and tossed it at Jared, "Sit your ass down, I can get my own coffee."

Jared stopped moving but it was James that responded, "Can't you just say thank you? You know nobody doubts your ability to pour yourself coffee. In fact, I'm sure you do it better than Jared."

My eyes met his icy blue stare. His eyebrows were arched and his lips were in a tight line. As much as I wanted to deny it, he was right. _Shit._ _He was right._

"Thank you, Jared," I said, my eyes fixed on James.

Jared started walking towards the coffee again and was mumbling something that sounded like, "I'm sure you can do it better than Jared."

A smile spread across James' face, "See that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"So what have you been dying to tell me?" I said, hoping he would not rub it in that he was right about my irrational defenses.

"Angela's friends and family have decided to take matters into their own hands," he said tossing a file on my desk. I grabbed it up and took a peek inside. Inside was a copy of an email that was encouraging people to forward said email to everyone they know. Included was a link to a Facebook page and a Twitter account both labelled Find Angela Now.

"What the hell is this?" I asked setting the file down.

"They set up these social networking pages, very popular social networking pages. They've had like 5000 hits already."

"5000 hits? What the hell?" I turned on my computer and waited impatiently for it to start up.

"They ran an article in the Sun Times yesterday and now they have almost 5000 hits and a shitload of crazies posting shit. Crazies we get to fucking sort through," James leaned back in his chair as Jared plunked a cup of coffee in front of me. My computer was taking forever. I logged on and waited to get on the internet.

"What?" I asked when I noticed Jared hadn't moved from my side.

"Nice manners, Cullen," he huffed and turned to go to his desk. Now I felt guilty. If I had gotten my own coffee I wouldn't have to worry about being impolite.

My hand flew up and I closed my eyes for a moment, "Jared, sorry. Thank you for the coffee." I looked up and James was smirking.

"Whatever," Jared grumbled.

I went back to trying to get online. Googling _Find Angela Now Facebook_, I found what I was looking for easily. 4287 people had joined the group already. There were thousands of posts on the wall.

"Come on I wanted the flustered, pink-cheeked Izzy to show herself and here you sit all composed," James said leaning forward on his arms.

I shot him a look that hopefully said _shut the fuck up,_ but he just smiled his toothy grin and I couldn't be sure he got it.

I read a bunch of posts on the wall. Most were wishing the family well, hoping she was found soon. Then there were the weird, random ones. These one said things that had nothing to do with the missing woman but had links to other sites, probably to sell shit or something like that. Finally there were the disturbing ones. There are some very dark and twisted individuals in this world and they are the reason I do what I do. There are some people that should not walk to streets with the rest of us but should be locked up tight in maximum security prisons. These sickos posted things like, "When they find her dead I want to fuck her corpse," and "She's hot, I bet she's good at giving head." Who sits at home on their computer and logs on to Facebook, creates a fake account, and then seeks out pages so they can write disgusting comments about people they've never met? What the hell is wrong with people?

I got why Angela's family and friends set this up but to me it was no better than a tip line, you get a million whack jobs calling in with a million false leads. Now James and I would be spending the better part of our day reading the wall and Twitter page looking for anything out of the ordinary, scratch that, out of the ordinary _and_ possibly relevant. The sick bastards were definitely out of the ordinary but just sick not likely truly involved in her case. Maybe we could pawn this off on someone else while we actually ran down some real leads. I had scoured her phone and internet records over the weekend and came up with a couple things that made me curious. I needed to get a warrant for her credit card and bank account records today as well.

We spent the first next hour sharing what we had each gathered from looking at her phone and internet records and making a game plan for the day. There wasn't a lot to discuss but I noticed several emails from someone who only signed all his or her emails _See you soon, -J_. They were pretty innocuous, usually about meeting at the gym or a stupid forward of some chain email joke. The email address hinted that the person's name was J Jenks. I was curious about it only because Mr. Cheney had not mentioned anyone with a first name starting with J or the last name Jenks. This J. Jenks had emailed Angela both on her home and work accounts. So, he or she must have known her pretty well. It seemed worth looking into and James agreed.

We also began wading through the Facebook wall, looking for familiar names and any standouts. Around 10:30, my cell rang.

"Bells, it's Eric," my former partner from Seattle sounded strange.

"Eric, what's up?" I asked, realizing he might have some info about Emmett's situation. I stood up from my desk and walked away from James' not-so-subtle eavesdropping.

"Bells, there is some fucked up shit going down out here and I just wouldn't feel right not giving you a heads up. After everything we've been through, after you took a bullet," he was talking quietly but he was also obviously a little shaken.

"A heads up about what?"

"I don't even believe this is true but my buddy over at the West Precinct says it is, so I kinda have to believe it, you know?"

"What?" I asked feeling the coffee gurgling in my otherwise empty stomach.

"They're having Emmett come in this morning under the guise that they have a few more questions for him," he paused.

"Under the guise of asking him questions? What the hell are they really bringing him in for?" I looked over my shoulder making sure no one was close enough to hear me. James was looking at me but looked away when our eyes met.

"Bells, they're planning on arresting Emmett for the car bombing," Eric said in almost a whisper.

It took a minute for that to sink in. I wasn't sure I heard him correctly. He had to be fucking with me and I _so_ did not need to be fucked with this morning.

"Eric, don't mess with me, man. I am neck deep in a missing persons case and I am not up for any shitty ass pranks today,"

"Fuck, Bells, you think I would fucking kid you about something like this? I am telling you something I should not be telling you right now. I am telling you something I shouldn't even know right now. They are fucking going to arrest Emmett for blowing up his fucking jeep and killing that Cummins guy."

He wasn't fucking with me. He was warning me so I could warn Emmett.

"Why the hell are they going to do that? Why the hell would anyone think that?" I angrily whispered back. I looked over my shoulder again and caught James looking at me. He smiled this time like he wasn't fazed by getting caught staring at me twice.

"You're not going to like this, but he told me word over there is that there's some people who think Emmett has been involved in the Volturi business from the beginning. On the Volturi side. There are rumors he was in on all that shit with Mike and that he set Mike up to get shot by you to cover up his part in it. All the work he's done since has again been to cover his tracks."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I shouted louder than I wanted to. I walked into an empty interrogation room knowing now there were more eyes on me than just James'.

"I don't have all the answers. I can only tell you what this guy told me. I told him I thought he was crazy, that Em is like the cleanest guy I know. That he doesn't have a bad bone in his body but he said they have witnesses that say he was in a pretty heated argument with Cummins on the Friday before and someone claims Em threatened the guy. I guess Emmett didn't tell them about that which makes him look even more suspicious," Eric said, leaving me dizzy. I sat down and tried to collect my thoughts.

"Ok, hold on a second, so you're telling me they think that because Emmett argued with this guy that he rigged his own car to blow and then convinced the guy to take that car to get food? Are you kidding me? How are these guys even allowed to carry a badge? This is the shittiest police work I have ever heard of! To top it off, someone thinks Em was working for the Volturi? That he knew what Mike was up to? Mike, who kidnapped Rosalie, traumatized her, shot me, and never once implicated Emmett in a damn thing? Mike, who told me exactly what he was up to and then kept meticulous records, none of which had anything to do with Emmett at all?" Saying it out loud made me feel better because it sounded just as ridiculous as it did in my head.

"I told you I don't know everything, just what this guy at the West Precinct gossiped with me about. He could absolutely have some of his facts wrong. I needed to tell you Bells because I would want someone to tell me. It's crazy. I know that. I know there is no way in hell Emmett had anything to do with this but it's not my case, it's not even in my district. I wish it were, Shorty. I would be beating some heads, let me tell ya," Eric said sincerely.

"Thanks, Eric. I appreciate the call," I said, resting my forehead on my hand.

"No problem. Good luck. I hope this crap gets sorted out. Em's a good guy."

"One of the best. Call me if you hear anything else," I hung up and immediately called Emmett. He was going to flip out. My heart was pounding in my chest. As it rang there was a knock at the door and James popped his head in.

"We got someone here who says she has some info -" James said at the same time as Emmett picked up.

"Bella, my favorite sister-in-law, what's going on?"

I put my hand up to tell James to hold on and spoke to Emmett first, "Where are you right now?"

"Headed to the station to answer a couple more questions. They need to follow up on a couple things and asked me to come in," he answered, clueless as to their real intentions. _ Damn it._

"Stop. Do not go to the station. In fact, don't go back to the safe house either. I need you to go somewhere else. Anywhere else and lay low," I instructed, knowing that I needed to give him more information than that.

He laughed like he thought I was joking, "What are you talking about? Why can't I go to the station?"

I stood up and walked over to the door where James was looking at me suspiciously. I pushed him out of the room and whispered to him, "Give me five minutes."

"Are you talking to me?" Emmett asked.

"No, sorry," I closed the door and went back to the chair I just vacated. "Emmett they're planning on arresting you when you show up at the station. You can't go. You need to get a lawyer and you need to make them contact your lawyer before they question you again."

"Arrest me? On what charges?"

"I have it on good authority that they think you were behind your own car bombing. Do not go to the police station," I said as calmly as I could manage even though I was an agitated mess.

"Bella, someone has to be messing with you. Why the hell would I bomb my own car? That doesn't even make sense!"

"Well, obviously you have fucking morons in charge of your case," I pressed the heel of my hand on my forehead, smoothing the deep creases that accompanied my stress.

"This is insane. This is a mistake. This," he stopped talking and I could tell he was reeling.

"You need a lawyer," I reminded him.

"I need a lawyer? I don't have a lawyer, Bells. I _am_ a lawyer. My wife is a lawyer. What the hell do we need a fucking lawyer for?"

"Then call Rosalie. I don't know what to tell you. Maybe she can get someone from her firm for you. You need to get one, now. I need to deal with some shit here and then I'll call you back."

"You'll call me back? You drop this shit in my lap and now you got to go?" he responded frustrated.

"I'm sorry. My contact didn't know much except that they were having you come in so they could arrest you. He said something about you withholding information about an argument that you had with the guy who died. I don't know. The whole thing is fucking crazy. Just get a lawyer. Your lawyer will sort all the shit out. I have to get back to work. I will call you back," I said trying to sound like I was under control.

"This is fucking nuts," he replied, "call me back. Soon!" then he hung up.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my face with my hands. Fucking nuts barely seemed to cover the extent of how messed up this situation was becoming. I went back out to find James sitting with a woman by our desks.

"Detective Cullen, everything all right?" James asked with a frown.

"Everything's fine, Detective Duncan," I said, tugging on my long ponytail. "What do we have going on here?" I asked looking at the small, blond sitting in the chair next to James.

"Detective Cullen this is Angela Cheney's friend Ms. Frost, Chelsea Frost," James introduced us as I reached my hand out to greet her.

"Do you want to move this conversation to a more private room?" I asked nodding back at the room I had just left. James and Chelsea stood up and followed me into the bleak interrogation room.

"Can we get you some coffee or some water?" I asked to be polite.

"No thank you," she replied nervously.

"While you were unavailable, Ms. Frost was telling me that she has some information that she feels we should know that might help us in our search," James informed me, causing my fist to clench reactively. _While I was unavailable_, what the hell? He acts like I was on the phone for hours. Why does he have to be such a prick? Using every ounce of self control, I managed to stop my eyes from rolling.

"What information is that, Ms. Frost?" I said turning my attention to the anxious woman in front of us.

"I don't want to sound like a gossip, because I am so not like that. I mean I am really good at keeping other's people's business to myself. I don't think that's right, you know? Just because someone tells you something or you see something, doesn't mean it's your information to share, right?"

_Ok, so she's a gossip. She doth protest too much._

"Absolutely, we are not asking you to gossip, you are simply helping a police investigation. There is nothing wrong with that. You can tell us, it's just between you and us," I answered leaning on the table and narrowing the space between us so she felt like we were sharing something important as privately as possible.

"Well, Angela and I have been friends for a couple years. We go to the same gym and we hang out sometimes, go to movies and dinner. Another friend, Gianna, she used to hang out with us as well," I nodded encouragingly as James took notes. "Well, a few months ago, I'd say back in July, Angela stopped coming to the gym for the yoga class that we all went to."

It was our understanding that Angela frequented the gym quite often.

"She stopped going to the gym all together?" I asked for clarity sake.

Chelsea tucked her hair behind her ear, "No, she still went to the gym, just not when we all would go. She started going at other times."

She started fidgeting and seemed overly fixated on a spot on the table that she was rubbing with her index finger.

"Ok, so she changed up her routine, any reason why?"

"Well, you know, I don't like to gossip but Gianna told me that Angela started going to a class at the same time as this guy that we had met one time during our class. Gianna said that she saw Angela and this guy talking and laughing. You know, flirting, a little. Gianna didn't say anything to Angela even though she knew Angela was married and stuff. I called her one day and tried to find out why she switched class time and you know gave her a hard time for ditching me. On top of changing her yoga class, she would make plans to go to a movie with me and stuff, email how excited she was to go, and then cancel last minute. So I gave her a hard time. I was just kidding, I mean I wasn't really mad at her. We didn't fight really, I was teasing -"

_Oh for the love of God she was annoying. _Did she really think we would think she did something to Angela because she stopped coming to the 4 p.m. yoga class? Maybe she annoyed her to death but any other type of foul play on her part seemed unlikely. I tried my damnedest to keep a neutral face but it was getting harder by the second. I needed to call Rosalie, I needed to call Emmett back, and I needed to call Edward. This Chelsea woman was taking up an enormous amount of my time to tell me very little. James was scribbling away on his notepad. He stopped for a second and kicked my leg under the table. I looked over and he tilted the paper so I could see. He had drawn a picture of what I was guessing was Chelsea, a very well endowed Chelsea. He had _blah, blah, blah_ coming out of her gigantic, oversized mouth and _I heart Gossip Girl_ written across her chest. My mouth twitched but I refused to smile. He flipped the paper over and went back to looking like he was taking notes.

"...I wish I knew more but, that's all I know. I thought I should tell someone," Chelsea's story ended.

"This guy, do you know what his name is?" James asked.

"No."

"Can you describe him?" I asked.

"Well, I only saw him one time. I mean he was kind of just an average looking guy. He was kind of tall, brown hair. I don't know if I would recognize him if I saw him again."

"Do you know how we could reach Gianna?" I asked.

"Why do you need to talk to her?" Chelsea blanched.

I resisted sighing, "It sounds like Gianna might know a little more than you since she saw them together a few times. Maybe she knows the guy's name or could give us more of a description?"

"Um, sure. I have her cell number," Chelsea plunged her hand in her overpriced purse and retrieved her phone.

"Super. Detective Duncan will get that info from you and if you think of anything else please don't hesitate to give us a call. Detective Duncan will give you his card so you can call him directly," I said standing up, ready for escape.

I headed for the door and James cleared his throat.

"Detective Cullen, you're not going far, are you?" he asked with a pointed look in my direction.

"Not far," I answered reaching for my own phone.

I called Rosalie first. She was a wreck, going on about how she was trying to get her dad's jet back in Chicago but she was also using Edward's computer so she could find a flight out of O'Hare. She informed me that she was going to act as Emmett's lawyer because she trusted no one anymore. Then she started in on me.

"Where did your information come from?"

"Are you asking as Emmett's wife or as Emmett's attorney?"

"What difference does it make, Bella?" she snipped.

"Well the difference is a friend of mine did me a favor. He stuck out his neck for me, for Emmett, and I am not going to get him in any trouble. So if you are asking me as Emmett's lawyer because you want to question him and whoever told him everything then I'm not telling you shit. I'm sorry, Rose."

"I knew you'd fucking say that. Fine. It must be Eric but I'm not going to make you tell me. What else did your _friend _have to say besides they think Em blew up his car?"

I bit my lip, almost drawing blood. I knew she wasn't going to handle what I said next well at all, "He said that there have been rumors flying around that Emmett knew what Mike was up to and was working for the Volturi from the beginning."

Silence. A whole minute past before she spoke again.

"Who the fuck gave you this information, Isabella? Was it Eric? Who the hell told him that people are saying that?" her rage was palpable even through the phone.

"I'm not telling you. It doesn't matter who told me. This is what you're up against. Deal with it. It's fucking bullshit, we both know it. You'll squash it fast, it isn't going to go anywhere. There have to be people who want to bring Emmett down. He cleaned house but there have to be some Mike didn't know about. Some of them are still out there and there's plenty of reasons to want to drag Emmett through shit."

We agreed to let it go at that. She went back to finding a flight while I started dialing Edward. Someone was going to have to go home and take care of Lily. Rosalie said that Emmett only agreed to let her go if she left Lily in Chicago. Bringing her back to Seattle seemed like too much of a risk.

Before I could put my call through, James was in my face.

"Awful distracted today, Izzy. What's going on with you?"

I closed my phone, "Nothing's going on with me. I need to make a couple calls. You have a problem with that?"

"I have a problem when your calls interfere with us closing this case," he accused.

"Interfere with the case? How so?" I questioned. That was total bullshit and he knew it.

He got in my personal space and pointed a finger at me, "We need to talk and you're off chatting on the phone like a fucking little schoolgirl."

"Fuck you. What the hell do you need to talk to me about exactly? Would you like me to critique your little drawing? Real professional, by the way," I fired back.

He stayed too close for comfort for a few seconds more. He stared silently at me and his face looked flush. Finally, he stalked back to his desk and sat down. He opened a file and started shuffling through it. I took a moment to slow my breathing down. I had no idea what that was about.

I walked back to my desk and sat down. My eyes stayed on him until he looked up at me a few minutes and several deep breaths later.

"So when do you want to go confront Mr. Cheney about his wife's affair and work a confession out of him?" he asked, seemingly finished being mad at me.

"What confession?"

"Well, I told you he killed her and now we got the evidence that points to a nice little motive. Mrs. Perfect wasn't so perfect. She was sleeping around with some chump from yoga class. Mr. Cheney finds out and kills her. It's so obvious."

"So obvious, huh?" I asked and he nodded. "What if this yoga guy is our Mr. Jenks? What if Angela went to J. Jenks on Friday to tell him she was done with him, she was in love with her husband, so he killed her? You know around here we don't come up with a theory and then mess with the evidence so it fits that theory. We get all the evidence first and then look to see what it tells us. You are manipulating the evidence to fit your needs instead of letting the evidence speak for itself. Shit like that is what puts innocent people in jail," I said, knowing this was all hitting way too close to home. This is what was happening to Emmett and no fucking way was I going to do that to Ben Cheney.

"Come on, Izzy. It is much more likely the husband did it and then dumped her body in Lake Michigan or some shit like that."

"I don't doubt there is potential that this is not a missing person but a homicide investigation but crimes of passion are committed by husbands and lovers," I noted, "and people in Chicago don't always dump the body in Lake Michigan, you know."

James cocked his head.

"You have a lot to learn about criminals in Chicago, Detective Duncan."

"Really?" he challenged.

"Plenty of bodies get tossed in the Chicago River, too," I shrugged and he laughed.

"Oh, Izzy. Beautiful and funny. I'm going to be crushing hard on you pretty soon."

I blushed at his response. Damn traitorous cheeks.

"Don't," I sputtered.

"What? Don't call you beautiful or don't crush on you? Because you are and I can't help it," he replied flippantly.

I leaned closer to him, "I have two words for you. Sexual," I paused for effect. His eyebrow shot up and he licked his lips in anticipation, then I added, "harassment." His face fell. "I'm not afraid to file it. Shut it down, my friend," I warned, leaning back in my chair. The stunned look on his face slowly gave way to a look of bewildered amusement. He annoyed me so much.

"So are we going to call this Gianna and talk to her before we go to the gym to find out more about J. Jenks?" I asked ready to get back to business.

"Whatever you want, Izzy. Whatever you want," he said standing up and looking at me a little too intensely. I grabbed my phone and texted Edward that I needed to talk to him.

James and I conducted our business. At the same time I was fielding calls from Emmett and Rosalie. Rosalie had found a flight and needed to get to the airport. I tried calling Edward and got his voicemail. I was trying not to get frustrated but, of course, he called me back right when we were talking to Gianna. Edward left me a message promising to answer the next time I called. We finished up with Gianna who gave us basically the same story as her friend. She did think the guy's name was Jason or Jay, maybe the guy literally went by the letter J. She couldn't describe him much better than Chelsea, average looking guy, brown hair, average build. Gianna did say that they seemed very friendly, more than _just friends_ friendly. Rosalie kept paging me like every minute letting me know how many minutes she had until she had to leave for the airport as if that would make Edward call me back any fucking faster. I tried to call Edward again as we made our way to Angela's gym but once more I got his voicemail.

"Ugh!" I let out in frustration.

"What's the trouble, Izzy B?" James asked.

"Nothing, and will you please stop calling me that? You are insufferable!" I yelled, fed up with his cheeky remarks and his suggestive looks. He was driving me insane on a day when there was more insanity than I could handle.

"What? I was changing it up. I know you punch people who call you Isabella. So I was going with my own variation," he said, wearing his obnoxious grin.

I couldn't even respond. I knew that no matter what I said he was going to be difficult. I needed to shut him out. I tried Edward again before walking into the gym but he didn't answer. Now I was pissed. He tells me he's going to answer the phone and then he let's it go to voicemail two more times. We went inside and approached the guy behind the front counter. James did the talking and finally my phone rang. I motioned to James that I was going to take the call. He shot me a frustrated glance and went back to interviewing the guy.

"You know the next time you promise you're going to answer you might actually want to do that before the call goes to voicemail," I seethed.

"Sorry," he sighed, "I couldn't pick up. What's going on?"

What the hell was he doing that made it impossible to pick up? It was ridiculous and I was in such a bad mood, "Well, _now_ I don't have time to explain but you need to go home. I'll call you there in a half hour and my call better not go to voicemail,"

"I'll be done here in a little bit but Victoria and I were going to -" he began. The second I heard Victoria's name I wanted to scream.

"I don't really care what Victoria was going to do with you. Her little narcissistic photo shoot is going to have to wait," I angrily interrupted.

He didn't answer back right away. I needed to pull it together and quick. I kicked at the wall gently, as I rested my forehead on the wall in front of me. I bit my lip, knowing I was being a total bitch.

"Iz!" James called from behind me. I turned and saw him motioning for me to join him.

"You know it's really hard to turn you down when you ask so nicely, honey," he responded with artificial sweetness dripping from his words.

I put up one finger to let James know I needed one more minute. He rolled his eyes at me and put his hand on his hip. I exhaled loudly. I shouldn't be mad at Edward, I was more irritated with my partner than him, "Please, go home. I have to call you back."

I joined James, who continued to give me the evil eye, and we were given the opportunity to interview some of the people at the gym. J. Jenks, it turned out was a real person. Jason Jenks. He was often called J for short.

Once we got back to the station, I went into the bathroom to call Edward back so James wouldn't know. I was tired of his judgmental looks. Edward actually laughed when I told him what was going on. He couldn't believe anyone would think for a second that Emmett would hurt a fly. I tried to explain how serious this was but he would have none of it. As much as I love a carefree Edward, this didn't seem like the time for him to not care. He was freaked out about having to deal with Lily, so I promised I would be home as soon as I could.

James and I would spend the rest of the day trying to run this Jason Jenks guy down. We ran his name through the system and we tried to find him at home with no success. Jared and Garrett had been reading the posts on Facebook all afternoon. They found one from JJ2009 that simply said _I'm sorry._ Interesting. By 5:00 I was ready to go home. I figured we could chase this guy down tomorrow.

I walked into the condo to find Edward bouncing up and down in front of Lily singing Poker Face by Lady GaGa. He was looking quite disheveled. His hair was sticking up worse than usual. He had what I could only imagine was diaper cream on his forehead and a little in his hair. It was like he forgot it was on his hand and ran his hand through his hair.

"What the hell are you doing?" I said as I walked over to the cabinet and secured my weapon.

"Bella, thank GOD!" he exclaimed. The second he stopped singing, Lily began to wail. "You have to save me. I can't do it anymore. I can't! Sing, please sing," he slumped on the couch and grabbed two pillows and pressed them over his ears.

"What are you talking about?" I walked over to Lily and picked her up out of the carseat he had her sitting in. She was wearing a shirt and a backwards diaper. "What is up with her diaper?"

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing. She won't eat, she cries all the time unless I sing Lady GaGa, and I think I'm losing my mind," Edward sighed exasperated.

I couldn't stop the smile that was growing bigger the more I looked at him. He looked like he went to war with the baby and the baby won. I tried to calm Lily down by lightly bouncing her in my arms and shushing her quietly but she kept crying.

"You have to sing. You have to sing Lady GaGa. It's the only thing that works," Edward continued. He was looking up at the ceiling and I noticed there was more diaper cream on his neck. He was a wreck.

"Lady GaGa?"

"I blame Rosalie. There is no way Emmett listens to Lady GaGa. There is no way. Please sing," he begged.

Keeping myself from giggling I cleared my throat and began, "I'm your biggest fan. I'll follow you until you love me. Papa, paparazzi -"

From where he sat, a couch pillow was launched and struck the side of my head - hard.


	10. Chapter 10 Breaking Down

EPOV

I hate the word paparazzi. My wife knows this. After taking care of a crying, hungry baby all afternoon, I was in no mood.

"Edward, you could have hit the baby!" Bella scolded me for throwing the pillow at her head. My aim was dead on, though, Lily had been in no danger. However, since Bella stopped singing she started crying again.

I narrowed my eyes at Bella, catching that undeniable smugness in her expression. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Sing! Just not_ that_ song!" I moaned as I let my body fall to the side.

"You said she wouldn't eat? Maybe she's hungry," Bella suggested. She made her way towards the kitchen.

"She won't eat. I went to the store, bought some formula, came home, realized I needed to buy a fucking bottle, went back to the store, came home, made her a bottle, and she refused to eat any of it. I called Rosalie and all Rose did was cry and then yelled at me because hearing Lily cry over the phone made her 'let down', whatever the fuck that means, so I let her go, and for the last hour and a half I have been singing and dancing and acting like a fucking psycho," I explained as I followed her into the kitchen with the she-devil of a niece we now were in charge of 24/7.

Bella grabbed the bottle that I had sitting on the counter.

"When was the last time you tried to feed her?"

"Twenty minutes ago, maybe," I said as I looked for the time. I had lost all track of time while trying to appease the Lady GaGa loving baby in Bella's arms.

"This bottle is ice cold. Did you put it in the refrigerator or something?" Bella uncapped the bottle and dumped the contents out.

"No, I used the water from the fridge door, so it would be nice and chilled," I answered, taking a seat on the counter next to her.

"You gave Lily chilled formula?" Bella looked at me like I spiked the bottle with some fucking rum or something.

"Well, I don't really like to drink milk that's been left out. Room temperature milk is gross," I said over Lily's cries, which were getting louder by the minute.

Bella dropped the bottle in the sink and pressed her palm to her forehead, "You gave her a cold bottle of formula? Edward, the child has been drinking out of Rose's breast for over three months, do you think the milk that comes out of Rosalie is chilled?"

She looked at me like I was an idiot. _Ok, I was an idiot._

"Oh. I didn't think about that," I said scrunching up my nose.

"You have to warm the bottle up. She isn't going to drink cold formula. Honey, really," she said as she started mixing a new bottle.

"Just dance gonna be ok, da da do do da, just dance, spin that record baby," I started singing again because I couldn't take the crying anymore. Lily quieted down.

"You have got to be kidding me with this Lady GaGa stuff." Bella wasn't convinced but I knew this was the only thing that worked.

"Sing something else," Bella seemed to beg, " I bet she just likes being sung to," Bella was not a huge pop music fan. She was wrong about Lily, though. I had tried everything. This baby was gaga for GaGa. No lie.

"Twinkle, twinkle little star," I sang, it was the first thing that came to mind. As I went on Lily started to cry.

Bella frowned, "Something a little catchier. Come on, you were bopping all over and then you go with the most boring children's song of all time. Of course she's going to cry."

"What do you suggest? You got a request?" I asked as we made our way back into the living room with a new bottle with warm formula and a crying baby.

"I don't know, sing something that is all the rage with the teenagers today."

"Oh, I'm all about what the teenagers are into," my sarcasm thick.

"Come on. Sing some Pink, at least she's a badass ," she offered.

I belted out some Pink with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. I didn't want to be accused of not trying hard enough, "So what, I'm still a rock star. I got my rock moves and I don't need you and guess what I'm having more fun and now that we're done, I'm gonna show you tonight-," No dice she was not stopping. "Now watch this. Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah! Roma-Roma-ma-ah! Ga-ga-ooh-la-la! Want your bad romance." Lily stopped crying and looked at me intently.

"That is freaky ass shit," Bella mused while I continued to sing. "And I don't mean your extensive knowledge of Lady GaGa songs, although that is also a little frightening."

She cradled Lily in her arms and tried to get her to take the bottle. Lily was resistant. Probably wondering why her aunt was shoving some weird rubber thing in her mouth instead of a scrumptious lady nipple. Ah, but Bella's nipples were mine and mine alone. In fact, I don't know that I want her to breastfeed when we have kids. That's just weird. I mean how will I ever be able to look at them the same after my kid has nursed on them? Finally, Lily gave up. She started sucking on the bottle like a champ and drained that sucker right before completely passing out in Bella's arms.

"You are magical," I sighed as I closed my eyes and relished the peace and quiet.

"What a day, huh?" Bella half whispered.

"I don't know how we're going to do this, Bella. How long is Rosalie going to have to be there?"

"Well, Em didn't show for questioning today so I'm sure they figured he knew what they were up to. He didn't answer their calls until Rosalie made it to Seattle. She spoke to the guy in charge of the investigation and said she would accompany him to the station in the morning for questioning. She also let him know that if they have anything other than questioning him in mind they better have their shit together because she is ready for war," Bella said rubbing Lily's back.

"I can't imagine what evidence they have that could prove he blew up his own jeep and I'm dying to know what they got that proves he worked for the Volturi."

Bella shook her head, "They probably have nothing. Now that Rose is there, they're in trouble, that's all I know. With the two of them working on this together, they're untouchable. I'm going to put Lily down."

She got up and put Lily in the spare bedroom. She came out pulling her hair tie out, letting her long, brown hair cascade down her back and over her shoulders. She was beautiful. I watched her as she spent a few minutes picking up the disaster I had made of our living room. She took off her jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt. Bella was this amazing combination of strength and softness. At first glance, you notice her simple beauty. She has these big, doe-like, brown eyes and soft, full, pink lips. She's petite but she is built like a woman should be, with soft curves. She doesn't have huge breasts but they are perfect for someone her size. She hides some of her best features in her business clothes. Her pants and dress shirts don't accentuate what makes her so womanly. Of course, work isn't where she wants to come off too feminine. She doesn't wear jewelry at work, except for her wedding ring. On her wrist, she wears her father's old watch. It looks gigantic on her little wrist but I know she doesn't care. I also know from touching her that she looks soft but she's stronger than her appearance gives away. Bella's body is well toned and firm. She can probably do more push ups than I can. She tucked her hair behind her ear and caught me staring at her. Smiling slyly, she didn't say anything but went into the kitchen and came back with a wet paper towel.

"You look like you had a difficult day," she said, straddling me on the couch.

I started untucking her white dress shirt and then began unbuttoning it slowly. "I realized today that I am so not ready for fatherhood but more importantly, we need to be very careful about what music we play in the house when we do have kids."

She snickered as she began wiping my forehead with the paper towel.

"I'm sorry you have to be the one in charge for a little while. Hopefully the diaper cream won't get the best of you tomorrow," she said tilting my head up and rubbing the towel on my neck.

"What do you mean, in charge?" I said trying to look at her while keeping my head up.

She leaned in and kissed me where she had cleaned me up and I grabbed her hips pulling her down on me. Bella pecked me sweetly on the lips.

"Well, when I'm at work, you're going to have to be here with Lily," she said before kissing me again under my ear and down my neck again. This distraction was almost enough to make me not care if I had to stay home with a hundred babies.

"Uh, sweetheart, I know you have to go to work but I was going to start with Victoria this week," I managed to think clearly long enough to say that much but then she ground herself on my lap making me groan.

She stopped kissing me and put both hands on my shoulders, "I don't want to sound like a bitch, I know I was pretty bitchy with you on the phone today, but you can't expect me to stay home when I'm in the middle of a missing persons case. Victoria is just going to have to wait."

She went back to kissing my neck but I move my hands to her shoulders and pushed her back before I lost my train of thought.

"Victoria is paying me a lot of money to take these pictures, Bella. I don't know that she wants to wait. We don't know how long Rosalie's going to be in Seattle. I can't just put her off indefinitely." If I blew off Victoria I could lose everything. She said she wanted me and only me but maybe she was just stroking my fucking ego.

Bella climbed off my lap and took a seat next to me instead. Not the response I was looking for.

"Victoria," she began but then seemed to stop herself from what she was going to say next. She bit her lip and started buttoning her shirt back up. Definitely not the response I was looking for.

I don't know why but it bothered me. I knew she supported me on one hand but on the other she seemed to have such a problem with Victoria.

"What? Finish what you were going to say."

She shook her head, "I don't want to fight with you."

"I don't want to fight with you either but you obviously have something to say about the job I've agreed to do for Victoria."

"I don't have anything to say about the job. I think that it's pretty obvious that in terms of flexibility, you have more than I do."

"What about Renee? What if we had her help us out?"

Bella laughed, "I love my mother but she is not babysitter material."

"Why not?"

"Please, sometimes I worry about her being able to care for herself nonetheless a baby."

"You are so hard on her," I defended my mother-in-law like I knew she would do for me.

"Babies are not Renee's strong suit. Why do you think I'm an only child? One baby was all she could handle. I learned to take care of myself pretty early in life. You can tell Victoria you'll get back to her in a few days once we know more."

I was now very aware of why I was mad at her earlier today. She had talked to me like I was a child today and made me feel like my work was unimportant. Now she was dismissing my needs and talking about Renee like she was worse than a child. Bella and her mother had come a long way but sometimes this side of her appeared, the side that like to focus only on Renee's weaknesses. I got defensive and unleashed.

"Well, you know what? Not everyone is as perfect as you, Bella. I mean, it's amazing that someone as completely incompetent as Renee could produce a daughter who never fucks up. Charlie must have been a goddamn saint or something, to counterbalance the screw up that is your mother," I said getting up off the couch and heading to the kitchen to get a beer, something that would really piss her off but at this point I didn't care.

"What are you so pissed off at me about?" Bella called from the couch.

I opened my beer and took a sip before responding, "Well, news flash, I'm not perfect either. I argue about stupid shit, I feed babies cold milk, I don't know how to put a fucking diaper on. I'm clueless. But you know what I hate? When I feel like you think what I am good at means nothing. I know I don't have a job where I save the fucking city from all the bad guys but that doesn't make the work I do so monumentally less important than yours, Supergirl."

"Well, Peter Parker, unless you're hiding the fact that you're also Spiderman, explain to me how taking pictures of some self-indulgent art gallery director equivalent to solving crime?" she said red-faced.

"Boy, here I thought you didn't want to be a bitch," I shot back. I wasn't sure how this conversation went from her grinding on my lap to us tearing each other apart.

Bella stood up, her arms were taut at her sides. "What the hell is your problem? It's _your_ brother who needs our help!"

"Well, I wasn't the one that invited Rose and Lily here in the first place, was I? I'm not the one who told Rose to go ahead and get on a fucking plane and leave her daughter here, was I? That was you, but you don't seem to want any of the fucking responsibility that goes along with those choices," I pointed at her, unable to control my temper.

"Oh don't you even go there this time! I tried to call you but you were too busy with _Victoria_ to answer, so decisions were made without you! Sorry that I made time in my fucking, busy-ass day to handle all this shit! Sorry that I answered my fucking phone when Rose called! Sorry I didn't tell her to fucking woman up and take Lily back to Seattle with her where people are running innocent women off the road and, oh yeah, trying to _kill_ your brother! You know I'm sure it would be no big deal for Rosalie and Emmett to show up at the police station tomorrow with Lily in tow. She's young, I'm sure she won't remember seeing her father in handcuffs when they arrest him tomorrow!" She was breathing heavy from barely taking a breath during her entire tirade.

I pulled at my hair with my free hand. This was getting us nowhere. I don't know why we were ripping each other apart. This wasn't us. This wasn't how we worked. The stress of the last week was causing us to lose our way. Lily started to cry from the other room. I closed my eyes and went to set my beer down so I could go get her.

Bella seemingly read my mind, "No, I'll get her. I wouldn't want to not take responsibility for the choices **I** made."

I sighed and sat back down on the couch. Bella and I had fought more in the last week than the whole time we had been together. Fighting with her was so stupid but I was beyond frustrated. Yelling at each other didn't make me feel better, though. It didn't solve our problem. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands and tried to think of something to say that would end this battle. Bella was gone in the other room for several minutes. Bella had changed Lily into some pajamas and found a pacifier that was now in Lily's mouth, miraculously keeping her quiet. No Lady GaGa required. I looked at Bella and I could see that in the time she was gone she had been crying. Her eyes were red and her cheeks a little damp. She sat in the oversized chair instead of next to me on the couch. The distance felt immense and somehow made me feel worse than I already did.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight with you, I really didn't. I don't," I said after a few more minutes of silence passed between us.

"I'm not trying to be a bitch," she said, her voice much smaller than the last time she spoke. I held my tongue for a moment. If that wasn't trying, I feared for what she could be like if the effort was there.

"You're not a bitch. You're... opinionated," I offered, my eyes flew to hers checking for her response. She looked up at me and bit her lip before responding.

"I'm not trying to put you or your work down. I know what this job means to you. I don't want to compromise it. I don't know what to tell you, though. I have to go to work every day this week and depending on how this case progresses there could be some long hours."

"Well, you were right. Obviously finding some missing person is more important than Victoria's photo shoot. But, baby, she wants to start shooting Thursday. She rented this space for us to use. I can't ask her to wait for me."

"Why don't we call your mother?" Bella asked.

My mother would jump at the chance to come spend time with Lily. In fact she probably would offer to fly out here tomorrow and take Lily back to L.A. It was a tempting idea. But Emmett was scared as hell that someone might come after his family. He had sent them here because he wanted me and Bella to protect them, more so Bella than me but still. I knew he had doubts about putting our parents in a situation that could be dangerous. Now, with him potentially in trouble with the law himself, unable to protect anyone; he was going to be even more of a wreck.

"I'm sure she'd love it but I don't think I want anyone else staying here. She'd probably want to take Lily home with her and I'm not sure that's the best solution either." I picked up my beer and finished it off. I rolled the empty bottle between my hands.

"My mother is not good with babies and I'm not saying that to be mean, I am saying it because it's true. Babies are just not her thing. She liked me a whole lot better once I functioned independently. Why do you think I'm so goddamn independent?" She smiled and relief flooded my body because I knew we were close to making up. Bella gave Lily a kiss on the top of the head and continued, "But, I'm sure she could help if we really needed it. I wouldn't leave Lily with her all day but maybe we could get her help for a couple hours a day."

I jumped at her compromise, "I'll call her tomorrow. Maybe I can work something out with Victoria. We could shoot in in the late afternoons and evenings if she's up for it. If Renee can help us out then she can watch Lily until you get home. We won't see much of each other but it's not forever, right?"

Looking at Bella, I could tell she was more relaxed. Lily sat on her lap and stared at me with her big blue eyes. I wanted to crawl over to them and wrap them both up in my arms.

"Not forever," she sighed.

"I love you," I said clearly, because it was the only thing I wanted her to really know at that moment.

"Even when I'm bossy and crabby?"

"I love you even when you're bossy and crabby. Not that I love when you're bossy and crabby, but I love you in spite of your bossiness and crabbiness."

"Yeah, I got it," she said standing up and moving to the couch to sit by me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Lily's eyes were growing heavy as she leaned back on Bella's chest.

"No more fighting. I can't do this anymore," I said, turning my head and nuzzling my nose into her hair.

"How come we faced down the bad guys together a year ago and came out of it stronger and this time we seem to be self-destructing?" she pondered, resting her head on my shoulder.

"I don't know but I'd really like to fight beside you, not against you. Can you try to remember that we're a team?" I asked. She had accused me of not being available today to make decisions but the truth was she was really only calling me to tell me what the decision was, not to get my input. I needed to have more input into this situation if we were going to come out of this in one piece.

"I'll try," she said, closing her eyes and squeezing my thigh. That was all I could ask for.

**A/N: Well, the stress and strain and taking their toll. I love Lady GaGa, by the way, even though I'm really a rocker at heart. She is obnoxiously addicting! Hit review and tell me what music would make you stop crying! =) **


	11. Chapter 11 No Cheaters Here

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. I do however hope you enjoy this chapter. This one and the next one were fun to write. The plot thickens...**  
BPOV

For the next two weeks Edward and I worked, we babysat, and we barely saw one another. Lily didn't sleep well with Rosalie gone. She woke up crying a couple times a night. Rosalie thought maybe it had to do with the change in her diet but I figured it could be any one of the changes the poor baby had to put up with since her mother left. Taking shifts worked out for the most part. Edward had mornings, my mother came by around three and took over until I got home around six. I took the evening shift and got up with her in the middle of the night since Edward started his day with her around six in the morning after going to bed most nights after midnight. The weekend was a little better, although Edward put in a few hours Saturday with Victoria so they could do some outdoor shots in the daylight.

Emmett wasn't arrested but was named a "person of interest" in the car bombing. He was warned not to go anywhere and was put on a temporary leave at the DA's office pending a review of the work he had done on the Volturi cases to date. They were obviously looking to see if there was something that could prove he had been on the wrong side of the law and then used his position to cover it all up. The fucking press was having a field day. After a year of touting him as the greatest thing since sliced bread, they were more than happy to start dragging his name through the mud with little to no evidence. A fallen hero made for great story. The thing that had me furious was it seemed the only evidence they had was a red light camera that caught Emmett's jeep on video that day. Much to everyone's surprise, the only people to go near the jeep all day were Emmett and Riley. Emmett got out of it that morning, Riley appeared that afternoon and, after sitting in there for a few minutes, blew up. It confused the shit out of me how that could prove Emmett was behind the whole thing. The asshole Seattle police pulled Emmett's protection which made Rosalie raging mad. It was like they were asking someone to take another shot at him to prove he wasn't involved. Rosalie, unhappy with the everyone at this point, had already hired some private investigator to look into the case and private security for both of them while they stayed at Hale Tower.

Rose called several times a day and was beside herself over being away from Lily. With no charges being pressed, Emmett encouraged her to come back to Chicago. She was arriving by way of the Hale private jet Friday. It was going to be a huge relief to have her back. Alice was supposed to join her but it was decided that Thanksgiving 2009 was going to happen here in Chicago now. Everyone was coming - Edward's parents, Alice and Jasper, even Emmett got the green light to come for the weekend. So instead of the girls' weekend we had planned, we were pushing our mini-reunion back so Edward and I could now be in charge of a big turkey dinner at my mother's, the only one who had enough room for everyone. My head spun thinking about how we were going to pull it all off.

Work wasn't any better. Mr. J Jenks had conveniently gone on a ten day business trip on the Monday we discovered he existed. That left us with little else to do besides follow the activity on the Facebook and Twitter pages and go over some bank statements. There was nothing incriminating in the Cheney's financials. Ben Cheney, to me, still seemed like the worried and caring husband. He called every day asking for updates and offering whatever help he could give. James was still set on his theory that he was guilty but we had nothing that pointed us in that direction. Mr. Cheney gave us access to their home, let us come to his work, opened every door without hesitation. There was absolutely no physical evidence proving any foul play on Mr. Cheney's part and I could tell it was bugging the shit out of James. I loved it.

I was tired, the sleep deprivation was impacting my ability to function. The worst part was it made it harder for me to keep my guard up. The lack of things to do made James all the more interested in me. He was spending lots of time asking me personal questions, like where did I grow up, what were my parents like, how long had Edward and I been together, how did he feel about being married to a cop, and on and on. Normally, I could avoid and deflect these kind of questions. However, working on only a few hours of sleep a night, I found myself telling him whatever he wanted to know. He seemed to enjoy that way too much. The only thing I did keep to myself was the reason for my sleep deprivation. My protectiveness of Lily was at an all time high.

We finally met with Mr. Jenks at his place of employment on the Thursday after his return. He was not expecting us, at least that's what he kept saying when we finally sat down to ask him a few questions. It was hard to believe that his pretty little secretary who smiled and batted her eyelashes at him every time she walked into his office didn't contact him and warn him when we came here to find him last week. Mr. Jenks didn't have much to say about his relationship with Angela Cheney. He admitted to knowing who she was. He claimed they had talked a few times at the gym and that she had asked him to be sort of a "motivational influence", stating that was why he often emailed her about seeing her at the gym. He reported there was nothing else to their relationship, not that he would even consider it a "relationship". They supposedly never saw each other anywhere other than the gym. He claimed he heard about her going missing from someone at the gym but couldn't remember the person's name. He was the one that posted _I'm sorry_ on her Facebook wall, but meant that he was sorry for her husband, sorry she was missing. His alibi for the Friday she was last seen was weak at best. He claimed he went home sick that day and that his secretary could attest to the fact that he did work from home and was available to her via phone and email all day. When we got in the car after the interview I couldn't help but smile. My gut was saying this guy was a million times more likely behind this mess than Ben Cheney. James slammed his door shut with extra gusto, making my smile grow wider.

"What?" he challenged.

I shook my head and tried to keep from laughing, "Nothing. You just seem a little peeved. Everything ok?"

"This guy is an idiot. No way Angela Cheney was having an affair with this guy," he said looking out the window as I pulled out into the street.

"You'd be surprised at how many women cheat with guys that are a notch below the man they're cheating on. However, Angela might have been cheating two notches below." I tried to not laugh. I was starving, we needed to get some lunch.

"Are you speaking from experience, Mrs. Cullen?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Have I ever cheated?" I asked spotting a Potbelly up the street and looking for a spot to park again.

"Yeah, have you cheated before? On that CK model husband of yours or on some poor boyfriend back in high school?" Now he was the one wearing the evil grin. My walls were not sturdy so of course I started talking.

"I have never and will never cheat. I have been cheated on. Once, in college. I swore then I would never find myself in a relationship with someone who would ever do that to me again," I answered without censoring as much as I should.

"Do tell, Izzy B. Who in their right mind cheated on you?" he asked, seeming truly interested.

I turned down a side street and found a spot to park. "I need some food before I'll divulge any more information. I need some toasty goodness only Potbelly can provide."

I got out of the car before he could say anything else. I walked up the sidewalk without waiting for him. James jogged to catch up to me.

"Was it some pretty boy, like that husband of yours? Some guy that worried more about what his hair looked like than what kind of woman he had in his bed?"

I stopped walking and he took three more steps before he realized. He spun around to look at me as I spoke, "You know nothing about my husband. You don't even know what he looks like and you certainly know nothing about what kind of person he is. Don't talk shit."

He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands out, palms up, "What? Jared's the one that said he looked like some sort of fucking CK model. That he was prettier than you, which I can't imagine, by the way."

I started walking again and maneuvered around his stupid ass. Edward was not just some pretty boy. He was totally not shallow. Most of all, Edward would never cheat on me. Ever.

We walked into Potbelly and stood in line without talking. James looked like he wanted to say something but I turned away from him, giving him the clear message not to start with me. We ordered our food and I sat down at a small table to start eating.

"How come you always get to pick where we eat?" he asked before shoving his giant meatball sub in his mouth.

Covering my mouth with my hand, I answered, "You never speak up there, Sally. The next time you have an opinion you should say something."

He took a long drink of his large Coke and eyed me curiously. I waited for him to say something but he didn't. I finished eating and took a swig of my water.

"You're suspiciously quiet," I said, knowing I was going to regret it.

He wiped his mouth with his napkin and smirked. Placing his elbows on the small table, he leaned in closer, "I'm starting to grow on you, aren't I, Izzy B?"

"If by 'growing on me' you mean I've become indifferent to your obnoxious and juvenile behavior and comments, then yes, you must be growing on me." I took another drink but didn't break our eye contact.

"Does CK like it when you tell him what to do? Does he like it that you're so bossy? I bet that's what you like about him, he let's you run the show. Right?" James' face lit up like he had just cracked the Da Vinci code or some shit like that.

I could feel my face turn red and I wanted to storm out but that would just please him all the more.

"What Edward and I like about each other is none of your fucking business. All I'll tell you is he doesn't annoy the shit out of me like you do," I said getting up to throw my garbage away.

He was still laughing to himself when I came back to the table. He stood up as I made my way to the door to leave. He came up behind me and put his hand on my hip, making me want to elbow him in the ribcage.

With his mouth close to my ear, he whispered, "One of these days you're going to realize that you really love a challenge. You'll see that it might be nice to have someone else be in charge once and a while. Someone who knows what they're doing, a real man."

That was it, I elbowed him in the ribs. Hard. He nearly dropped his garbage as I walked out the door to the car.

_I hate him. I despise him. He knows nothing._

I got to the car and considered driving away without him. He made no attempt to catch up to me and casually walked to the car while I reluctantly waited for him. He doesn't know me, he doesn't know Edward. I do not tell Edward what to do. I don't get off on being in charge. I am an independent woman, I don't need a man to take care of me or sweep me off my feet. That doesn't make me bossy. Edward is also independent. He makes his own choices. He doesn't need me to tell him what to do. Sometimes, I can be opinionated. Sometimes, I can overstep my bounds. But Edward stands up to me. He doesn't take shit from anyone, including me. I don't take shit from anyone either and that made James wrong. He thinks he knows me but he knows nothing. At least that's what I kept trying to tell myself.

I didn't see Edward at all on Thursday. I fell asleep right after Lily went down around 9:00. I was exhausted. That night was first time Lily slept through the night since Rosalie left. Figured, since Rose would be back today. It was nice to get an entire night's sleep, though. She started crying just after 6:00. I was about to get up when I realized my shift was over and decided to poke my sleeping husband.

"Your turn," I mumbled as I rolled back over.

Edward groaned and flung one arm around me, his front to my back.

"I will pay you to change the first diaper. I pay well. I promise," he muttered into my hair while squeezing my breast.

"Are we talking cash or sexual favors?"

"Whatever it takes, baby," he returned with a chuckle. I had no idea what time he got home last night. I thought he was taking pictures at the Bulls game but maybe he met with Victoria. I couldn't keep anything straight anymore. He was obviously as exhausted as I was, if not more.

I grabbed his hand off my tit and kissed him right above his wedding band. He was mine, all mine. He swept my hair off my neck and placed a little kiss under my ear before I crawled out of bed. I changed Lily and even made her bottle. I walked the bottle back into our bedroom, intent on giving the baby and the bottle to Edward while I jumped in the shower. When I walked in I nearly dropped the bottle and the baby. Edward was lying on his stomach shirtless. The covers were low enough that I could see his whole back. Edward had a beautiful back. He had broad shoulders and perfect skin. No hair, no moles, no imperfections at all. Except this morning there were four distinct scratches starting at his left shoulder down a good six inches. Someone had scratched him good. Someone, not me, had scratched his back. I felt my throat close up. I couldn't make any sound come out. I was overreacting, I told myself. We had been fighting so much lately I didn't want to start in on him before I knew I could control my emotions.

I took Lily out into the living room and sat down on the oversized chair to feed her. It was nothing. Maybe he got attacked by a rake. Maybe some security guy at the Bulls game had really long nails and tried to grab Edward before he realized he had press tags. Maybe he was with Victoria and they had sex and she scratched his back as he made her come, giving her the best orgasm of her life. _Fuck!_ That was stupid. That was as stupid as the _he got attacked by a rake_ theory. Edward did not cheat on me with Victoria. I sat feeding Lily, seething. Surprisingly, my anger was not focused on my beloved and his scratched up back but on my partner, who yesterday had infected my head with doubt. I hated James. He basically said he thought Edward would be a cheater because he was good looking. He accused me of being a bossy, controlling wife. If I was a bossy, controlling wife that would be a perfect reason for my husband to stray. Not to mention he was spending enormous amounts of time with a woman who looked like something out of Cosmo magazine. I was pissed at myself as well. Here I was, doubting my husband who has never given me reason to doubt him. Except the one time when he had two blond girls at his apartment, half naked, playing strip poker. I shook my head at the faded memory. That was him getting back at me for thinking I was with Jake. That was not really what he was like. At no point in our relationship since we got back together has he ever caused me to doubt him. I hated James. I hated Victoria. I hated whatever or whoever made those marks on Edward's back.

My alarm went off in the bedroom and I heard Edward banging on it to get it to stop. He wandered out into the living room in nothing but boxer briefs a few minutes later. His hair stuck up in all directions and he was rubbing his stubbly jaw.

"You didn't have to feed her. I would have done that," he said patting me on the head like a I was a good little girl. He walked into the kitchen and I could hear him open and close cabinets and set coffee mugs on the counter. I took a couple deep breaths, trying to compose myself. Edward would never cheat on me. Never. There was a simple explanation and I just needed to ask for it. It was a good thing I was holding Lily because part of me wanted to jump on his back, yelling and screaming, kicking and punching. I was not a crazy woman, though. I was going to handle this like a confident and secure woman. I was not going to freak out.

_Please don't let me freak out._

Edward came out with two cups of coffee and sat on the arm of the chair. He put the cup he brought out for me on the table in front of me.

"You must be hoping for cash and sexual favors, huh?" he joked, his eyes twinkling even this early in the morning. He had the most gorgeous eyes. I'm sure every woman who looks at them can't help but think so. I bet Victoria loves his eyes. _Grrr._

He leaned over and kissed me on top of the head and then stood up. I got a good look at the scratches again and decided to get it over with.

"What happened to your back?" My voice sounded weird even to me, too high and squeaky.

He turned back towards me and then looked over his shoulder.

"Shit, she got me good. Geez," he seemed genuinely surprised and took off for the bathroom so he could look at it in the mirror. My teeth clamped down on my lip when I heard him say _she_. She did that to him. I put Lily on my shoulder and with shaky hands grabbed the cup of coffee. I needed caffeine and I needed something to wash the giant lump down my throat.

He sauntered back out and didn't offer up an explanation which made me more nervous.

"What happened?" I tried to ask casually. I rubbed Lily's back to keep my hands occupied so he wouldn't notice my unease.

"Oh, it's stupid, you know."

_No, I didn't know._

He continued but walked out of the room and into the bedroom so I couldn't see him as he talked, "Victoria slipped and I caught her and she must have scratched me."

"I thought you were working the Bulls game last night," I said in between my deep breaths. They weren't helping me calm down like they were suppose to.

He emerged from the bedroom wearing a T-shirt and shorts, "No, that was the night before. Last night, Victoria and I had a photo shoot at her place. I told you that. I think I emailed you or texted you. I can't remember."

That was right. He had emailed me. This no sleep, babysitting routine was taking its toll. Rosalie could not get here soon enough. Edward took Lily from me and sat on the couch.

"Thanks for feeding her. I appreciate the few extra minutes of sleep," he said shooting me his crooked smile. He was perfection. My heart leapt at the sight of him. "You should get in the shower so you're not late."

He just moved on from the claw marks like they were nothing. They were nothing. Edward would never do anything to hurt me like that. He loves me. I smiled back and got up to take a short shower.

My mind was clouded with my stupid insecurities when I got to work. My hair was in a messy bun and I forgot to put on my watch. I just needed to get through today. I got to work before James and enjoyed the peace and quiet at my desk until he got there about fifteen minutes later.

"Izzy B, you look like shit. Is that CK husband of yours keeping you up all night, rocking your world or something?"

"Ignoring you," I said shaking my head, in no mood.

"Seriously, you ok? You've been looking tired as hell all week but today you look like someone killed your dog or something." He looked at me like he was really worried. He took off his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair.

I wasn't going to fall for his phony concern. I had convinced myself he was the reason I was feeling so shitty in the first place. I glared at him from my seat.

"I'm fine. Don't act like you really care," I snipped.

"You and the CK model are fighting, aren't you?" he said leaning forward on his arms. He was fighting a smile.

My rage was overflowing. I needed to release it or I was going to explode, "You don't know anything about me and my husband. If you fucking say one thing to me today about him I will rip your fucking throat out. Are we clear?"

James leaned back in his seat and cocked his head to the side. He stared at me and I saw something shift in his eyes. He went from glib to dead fucking serious. He leaned forward again.

"If he hurts you, I will kill him."

With that he stood up and walked into the break room. I sat frozen. His words had chilled me to the bone. I didn't know why but I believed him. I believed that he would hurt Edward without a second thought. My skin prickled and my heart was pounding so hard in my chest I could swear the whole office could hear it.

James came back to his desk to find me sitting exactly as he had left me.

It was as if the switch had been flipped and he was back to his breezy, devil-may-care self, "So, what are we going to do today? If you take the Facebook, I'll check on the warrant for Jenk's place. Deal?"

"Sure," I finally responded. I sat back but couldn't take my eyes off him. He smiled and picked up his phone to make a call. There was something about James, something I hadn't seen before. Something dark. Something dangerous. I didn't think I would ever feel anything but loathing for him, but today I felt something else. Today, I felt afraid.


	12. Chapter 12 Oh We Got Trouble

**A/N: I wrote this chapter and the last one together so it's a fast turnaround here. This is my favorite so far. Crazy Edward is in full effect. **

EPOV

"Stop looking at me like that," I warned. Lily was sitting in the bouncy seat Renee had bought her last week. Her innocent, yet accusing, blue eyes following me as I paced around the living room.

"I lied. I know. But I lied for a damn good reason. I lied so she didn't get herself worked up into a big freaking tizzy and that is _exactly_ what she would have done if I told her the truth," I reasoned, waving my arms around dramatically.

Lily continued to stare at me and I knew what she was thinking. I could tell she wasn't buying the bullshit I was selling.

"Listen, you're what? Four months old? If that. You have a lot to learn about the world, little lady. When a woman asks a man, 'Do I look fat in this?' Even if she looks fat her man should always answer absolutely not. You, as a future woman, will appreciate a man that knows when to tell you what you want to hear instead of the awful truth that serves no purpose but to hurt you. Seriously, Auntie Bella deep down did not really want to know the truth. Auntie Bella wanted me to tell her it was nothing. Which it was. It _was_ nothing. So really, I didn't lie."

I was pacing back and forth in front of her, my hands in my hair, my heart heavy with the boldface lie of omission I had committed this morning. Bella saw the scratches on my back and I knew I couldn't tell her what really happened. She would probably go over to Victoria's gallery and beat her senseless. Badass Bella would not be stopped. I would be spending what little money we had in savings on her bail if I told her the truth.

"Would you be happier if Auntie Bella went to jail? Hmmm? Who would put diaper cream on you since Uncle Edward decided it was not really appropriate for him to go there? Huh?"

Lily kicked her legs and let out a loud coo.

"Ok, so your mom is coming back today. I hear you. But you still wouldn't want Auntie Bella to go to jail. You like her too much and that is what would happen. You have not seen your aunt pissed off."

Lily didn't have an answer to that one. I sat down in front of her. I stretched out, legs straight, my arms supporting my upper body. I looked up at the ceiling. I don't know how I let things get so out of control last night. I had everything planned out knowing that it was going to be an intense shoot. I brought the bottle of wine with no ulterior motive than to loosen her up and help her fight off any inhibitions. I should have known she had no inhibitions. I was such a dumb ass sometimes. This was probably another reason I didn't tell Bella everything. The look of complete disappointment I would have seen on her face would crush me. Bella loved me but she would let me know I was a total idiot. I brought my chin back down when Lily let out another wail to get my attention.

"Yes, she would. She would be mad at me. She would have shook her head and looked at me with those eyes that see right through me, and she would have been pissed at my lack of judgement. We have been teetering on the edge of destruction ever since your daddy's car blew up. I could not push us over the edge. I love her. I love her more than I have ever loved anything. Don't you understand that?" I sat up, pulling my knees up and wrapping my arms around them.

"She trusts me. She let me know she was worried about me taking naked pictures and I reassured her. I told her it would be completely professional-"

Lily shouted out her disapproval. Her legs and arms jerking all over the place.

"I was professional! I tried to be professional. It was Victoria! She was the one who made it into something else. But I set things straight. We are on the same page again and Bella does not need to know any different. So you got to stick with me here. No telling," I pointed my finger at her in warning. She got very still and I think she understood how serious I was.

_I'm out of my fucking mind._

There was no time to dwell on my newfound insanity. The buzzer rang and I hopped up to see who was visiting at this time of day.

"Hello?" I said into the speaker.

"Where the hell is your phone? Buzz me in!" Rosalie's agitated voice came booming through the intercom.

I quickly hit the button to let her in the building. I hadn't been expecting her. She wasn't expected until this afternoon. She was suppose to call me so I could pick her up at the airport. Where the hell was my phone?

There was a knock on the door a minute later and I opened it to find a slightly disheveled but still beautiful Rosalie. She flung her luggage at me and made a mad dash for the living room to grab up Lily.

"Baby!!" she cried as she snatched Lily from the bouncy seat.

I struggled to hang on to all the stuff she threw at me. After getting it all under control, I walked it back to the spare bedroom.

"I thought you weren't coming in until this afternoon," I said, walking past the reunited mother and daughter. It was hard to tell who was happier to see who. Lily's face lit up with a smile she obviously reserved only for Rosalie.

"I couldn't wait and my father had the plane ready to go so I left early this morning. Who the hell has your phone? I called it and some woman answered. Some woman that was not Bella," she said, looking around like I might have some woman hiding somewhere. I looked at Lily, _what did you tell her?_

Regaining my sense of reason (for the time being), I shook my head, "I must have left it at the studio last night. You weren't rude to her, were you?" Victoria was already upset with me, I didn't need her more upset.

"It was the old, 'Who's this?', 'Well, who's this?', 'I asked first', 'I don't care', click. Pleasant. Why the hell is she answering your phone? Talk about rude," Rose complained.

I ignored the question and tried to move on to any subject that did not have to do with Victoria, "So you took a cab or something?" She nodded and continued to make those cutesy noises people make when they're talking to a baby.

"Well, it's nice to have you back. Lily missed you."

"Not as much as I missed her!" she said holding Lily above her head, causing Lily to squeal in delight.

Rosalie and I caught up, chatting about the crap that was going on back in Seattle. Emmett was growing more and more frustrated with each passing day. He hated not working, he didn't know what to do with himself. He was really pissed at the DA, the guy he had worked so hard for the last few years. He felt like no one was standing up for him, instead they were all more than willing to throw him under the bus. Rosalie said he was quite a mess. I couldn't imagine how he was handling all this. Emmett was always the golden boy, at home, at school, at work - his _entire_ life. To be knocked down like this with no real cause had to be devastating.

Rosalie demanded that I go get myself cleaned up because she expected me to pick my wife up from work, with flowers in hand. She wanted us to go out on a date and didn't want to see our faces until we had spent some quality time together. I tried to explain that all we really needed was a good night's sleep but she insisted that we needed some time to ourselves. How could I argue with that? The conversation Bella and I had this morning was the most we had spoken since Sunday.

After taking a shower, hanging out with Rose and Lily, and changing my outfit a couple times at Rosalie's request, I headed out to surprise my wife for a date night. I just needed to make one quick stop. I needed to pick up my phone. I shifted uncomfortably in the backseat of the cab as it drove me to Victoria's gallery. I hoped she would act like nothing happened last night. Nothing had happened, I reminded myself.

I opened the door to the gallery and ducked my head as I made my way to the back. I thought maybe I could make it unnoticed. It wasn't my lucky day.

"Edward! I worried I was never going to see you again. Oh, look at you! Hot date or something? Mmm, you are a gay man's wet dream," Charles grabbed my arm and squeezed like he was checking the firmness of a melon. I so did not need to think about gay men's wet dreams.

"Charles. Good to see you. I am heading out to pick up my wife but I needed to get something from Victoria. Is she here?"

"Oh, I'm here," her voice came from behind me. Her tone made it clear that we weren't going to pretend nothing happened last night.

I spun around and there she stood in her stilettos and a black dress that left very little to the imagination. She had her hair up in a tight bun and she was wearing some reading glasses, making her look like a naughty librarian.

"Victoria. I guess I left my phone at the studio last night," I said, trying not to stammer.

"I'll leave you two," Charles said, looking almost fearful. He squeezed my arm one more time and then disappeared.

"You did," she answered turning and heading back to her office. I followed, knowing she wasn't going to make this easy on me.

"Who is Rosalie?" Victoria asked when we both were in her office. Her back was to me and she sounded kind of like a jealous girlfriend.

"Rosalie is my sister-in-law," I answered plainly. "Can I have my phone back, please?"

She spun around and I could see her displeasure with my curtness.

"Your sister-in-law?"

Before I could answer, she took in my appearance, "Why are you dressed like that? Where are you going?"

Not that it was any of her business I decided to be nice and answer, "I'm picking up Bella for dinner, Victoria. My sister-in-law is in town and we aren't responsible for the baby anymore. So, I am taking _my wife_ out." As soon as I emphasized _my wife,_ she scowled at me. If looks could kill I would be dead. I held my ground, though and our green eyes bore into each other. She inhaled and exhaled deeply. Her face soften slightly.

"I was merely looking out for poor Bella's best interest, of course. You made it so very clear last night that she was the only one for you, so imagine my surprise when someone named Rosalie kept popping up on your phone. I mean, if you had some floozy on the side that would be terrible for poor Bella. How foolish of me to doubt your commitment to her."

_Bella's best interest my ass._ Victoria thought I turned her down last night because I was already having an affair with someone else? God, did I really come off that sleazy?

Victoria opened her desk drawer and pulled out my phone. She tossed it at me and sat down.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Edward?" she asked icily.

"Victoria, I really don't want what happened last night to impact this incredible working relationship that we have developed. I mean, I have been enjoying this project so much I can't even tell you. I hope you know that I respect you and I don't want things to be weird between us." I went for apologetic and sincere. She looked at me over the top of her glasses.

"Our working relationship is just fine. No worries. I'll see you on Monday," she said dismissively. She picked up some papers on her desk and began looking them over. I took that as my cue to go and backed out of the office and back into the gallery. Charles and Bree were standing near the door and quickly shuffled away, trying to look busy instead of like the eavesdroppers they were.

I hailed another cab and headed to the police station, stopping quickly at a flower shop to do as Rosalie suggested. It was quarter to six and Bella would be getting ready to leave soon. I hoped I wouldn't be interrupting anything major.

I walked into the station and headed upstairs to the Detective Division. My hand was messing with my hair when I crossed the threshold into the main office area. I didn't see Bella right away. A blond-haired guy I had never seen before looked up at me and stopped talking to a guy I recognized as Garrett. I had met Garrett and his wife at our wedding. The dude I didn't know stood up straight and seemed to puff up his chest like a proud peacock or something. He glared at me like I was some sort of criminal that walked in off the street. I turned to look behind me to make sure it was me that he was glaring at. Garrett noticed that Mr. I-Don't-Know-You-but-I-Hate-You was staring me down and looked up.

"Edward," he greeted me kindly. I remembered he was someone Bella spoke well of, like she did Peter, her old partner.

"Garrett, how's it going?" I responded taking another step into the room. I flashed him a smile and shifted the flowers into my left hand so I could shake his hand. Before we could say anything else, Bella was sprinting towards me from the back of the room. She had this horrible look of panic on her face.

She glanced at Blonde Dude and he made a weird face at her. Bella placed herself between me and the rest of the room and started pushing me back towards the door.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered like I walked into the women's bathroom instead of her workplace.

"Surprise! Rose told me I better get my sorry ass over here and take you out to dinner. She reminded me that we both very much deserve a nice evening out together." I handed her the flowers and she seemed to take them rather reluctantly.

"You should have called me and I would have met you outside," she said still moving me out of the office area. _ Boy, was it that embarrassing to have me here?_ She couldn't seem to get rid of me fast enough.

"Izzy B, you're not going to introduce me to your hubby?" a voice called out. I looked over Bella's shoulder and saw the mystery man checking us out with his hands on his hips. He appeared very put out. I immediately realized I was being scrutinized by none other than the infamous James, Bella's new partner. What a fucking dick this guy was. Now I got why he pissed her off so much. The guy oozed arrogance. Not to mention the fact he had some totally ridiculous nickname for my wife that actually made my skin crawl, even more so than _Bells_.

"Yeah, _Izzy B_, aren't you going to introduce us?" I asked looking down at her as she bit down hard on her bottom lip. She seemed unable to speak.

I stepped around her and walked over to him. She was quick to spin around and follow me.

"You must be James. Bella mentioned a new partner. Well, actually she's mentioned missing Peter like crazy a bunch of times the last couple weeks. I'm Edward, the husband," I stuck out my hand.

James looked down at my hand then back at my face then at Bella. After winking at her he took my hand in his and shook it firmly, like he was trying to prove something. I found myself wanting to punch this guy square in the jaw.

"Boy CK, you really are pretty. Jared wasn't kidding," James sneered.

I wasn't sure what he was talking about but Bella found her voice finally, "Ignore him. I do."

She tugged me away from James and led me to her desk.

I nodded a hello to Jared, another guy I remembered from the wedding. He was the boob guy if wasn't mistaken. Not one of Bella's favorites.

"Hey, how's it going, Edward?"

"Good thanks. Would be doing better if the Yankees hadn't won the series but whatcha gonna do?" I remembered he was a baseball fan as well a boob man.

"Tell me about it. I hate those fucking guys. Jeter, A Rod. Pussies. Some day, some day our Cubs will make me proud," Jared folded his hands together like he was praying.

I smiled. Cub fans were eternal optimists. "I hear ya."

"Let me shut my computer down and grab some stuff and then we can go," Bella was all aflutter. Moving things around and nervously tapping her fingers on her desk while she waited for the computer to shut down.

"So what did you do?" James asked walking over to what I assumed was his desk. His desk was pushed up against Bella's so they faced each other.

I looked over at him, "Excuse me?"

"What'd you do that required bringing her flowers?" he jerked his chin in the direction of the gerber daisies laying on Bella's desk.

"Leave him alone," Bella stated firmly. He smiled at her, then looked back at me with his lips pressed in a straight line.

"Nothing," I shrugged, "I just like to do nice things for her." I was trying to stand my ground with this prick but something told me there was a reason for his question. Maybe she had told him about the scratches on my back and he had jumped to the conclusion that there was no way in hell that I got them from catching Victoria when she slipped. Maybe he convinced Bella she should look into it more. _Fuck._

"Yeah, I bet you do lots of nice things for her," he replied with a frown.

Feeling the need to mark my territory, I reached my hand out to tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear, "That's why she married me." I let the back of my hand linger on her cheek.

_Yeah, I can touch her, asshole. I can touch her whenever, wherever. Suck on that._

James did not like me anymore than I liked him but he obviously really liked my wife. That was going to be a problem. Just another thing to add the list of fucked up shit Edward and Bella have to deal with.

"Let's go," Bella interjected forcefully, causing James to break our stare down.

"Have a good time, Izzy. Maybe you'll let him be the man and pick the place for dinner," he smirked at her. I have never wanted to wipe a smirk off someone's face so badly.

Bella rolled her eyes at him and grabbed my arm, tugging me away. We were a few steps away when he called out, "Don't forget your flowers, Iz."

Bella walked back over to him and reached for them. He didn't let go right away when I saw her pull on them. He wanted to keep her there in front of him. I felt my fists clench at my sides and heat rise up my neck to the tops of my ears. Then he reached up and tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

_Oh no he didn't._

He let go of the flowers and smiled over her shoulder at me.

_Oh yes he fucking did. _

Trouble, oh we got trouble. Right here in the Windy City. With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for fucking asshole partner. _ Game fucking on._

**A/N #2: Sorry forgot to mention I don't own Twilight or the Music Man. The last lines are from the song Ya Got Trouble and I sing it all the time (without the expletives) whenever my children are driving me nuts. Thanks to my fifth grade music teacher who made us learn all the songs from that damn musical. I can't drive through Gary, IN without singing Gary, Indiana either. I'm weird. Hit review and tell me what you think! Want to know what happened during the naked photo shoot??? You know you do....**


	13. Chapter 13 You Wear it So Well

BPOV

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! _

That was all that ran through my head when I heard Garrett say Edward's name and I realized that my drop-dead gorgeous husband was standing a couple feet away from my happy-to-make-him-really-dead partner. I sprinted over to Edward like a protective mother bear.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered, wishing I could magically transport us out of there.

"Surprise," Edward said with flowers in his hand. He was the sweetest man in the whole world but I knew I was going to get shit for getting flowers from my husband. He looked divine and as he explained to me that he was here to take me to dinner, I fought the distraction of the sweet smell of him. He was clean shaven and dressed in his black wool pants and the grey cashmere sweater his mother bought him for his birthday. If he had just called me, I could have been waiting for him outside and we would have been on our way.

"Izzy B, you're not going to introduce me to your hubby?" James called from behind me. I saw Edward's jaw tense as he looked over my shoulder. I internally cringed at the thought of having Edward and James talking to one another. I hated the thought of James even knowing what Edward looked like. I bit my lip.

"Yeah, _Izzy B_, aren't you going to introduce us?" Edward hated the nickname probably as much as I did, maybe more. He didn't like any nicknames people gave me. I couldn't even speak, I think my brain froze. Edward took it upon himself to go over to James to make his acquaintance.

My heart was racing and I literally felt sick to my stomach. It was irrational. James was not going to hurt Edward. I spent all day trying to convince myself that my reaction to his stupid comment this morning was a massive _over_reaction. James was a cop. He wasn't some psycho. As annoying as he tried to be, he probably just had a crush on me. He was like the ten year old on the playground who calls the girl he's likes names until she cries. He probably thought he was impressing me or something this morning. For some reason, he thinks I need protecting.

The two men shook hands and James made his snarky comments. I dragged Edward away so I could finish up and we could leave. The two of them continued their subtle little pissing contest until I yanked Edward away again. In my hurried escape, I forgot the stupid flowers and James called me back. I marched over to him and tried to pull them out of his hand but he held on. He stared at me with those icy blue eyes. He licked his lips and reached his hand up to push some hair behind my ear. His touch sent the most alarming chill down my spine. That's when I saw his eyes move past me and head right for Edward.

_Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck!_

My face was burning red hot and I could only imagine I looked like a damn tomato. Edward was standing rigidly by Jared's desk, his eyes fixed on James. I figured he was considering how long he'd sit in jail for assaulting an officer and if it would be worth it. He didn't move immediately when I came to his side. He wrapped his long fingers around my hand and exhaled sharply.

"Good to see you guys, Jared, Garrett. James, good to put a face with the name," Edward said in a satiny smooth voice that freaked the shit out of me.

Jared and Garrett both acknowledged him while James just continued to smile. Edward didn't break his stare until the last possible moment. Once we were outside, I knew I was going to hear it.

"What the fuck was that?" he said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I told you, he's an asshole."

"Yeah, you told me he was an asshole but you failed to mention he was an asshole who fucking wants in your pants!" he yelled as I desperately tried to hail a cab.

"Shh! Can you control yourself until we're away from the station?" I looked around, certain that someone I knew heard that.

Edward turned his glare on me, "Control myself? Are you fucking kidding me? Did you tell him about the scratches on my back?"

I was caught off guard by his question, "No! Why the hell would I tell him about the scratches on your back? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, just he was accusing me of doing something I needed to be fucking sorry about," Edward looked away from me. His body still tense from what occurred upstairs.

"I don't talk to him about you. I try not to talk to him about anything but work," I reassured him. My brain was trying to process why he would bring up the scratches on his back. Why would he think I would talk about that?

A cab pulled over and we climbed in. Edward shouted out a restaurant name and the street corner to drop us at.

He was still in a huff, "You need to change partners. Actually, you need to file sexual harassment charges or something. Who does he think he is touching you?"

"He didn't touch me," I said as Edward's eyes grew as wide as saucers, "he touched my hair. Whatever. Let's not overreact. He's just weird, don't let him get to you."

"Weird? Ha, if some woman I worked with acted the way he just acted, I would be bailing your ass out of jail right now," he said staring out the window, "if they granted bail to murderers," he added.

I couldn't help but chuckle. I set the flowers beside me and scooted closer to him. I shoved my arm under his and grabbed his hand.

"Can we start over?" I asked, pressing my forehead to his shoulder.

He sighed and kissed the top of my head, "Sure. Surprise, I'm here to take you out for dinner to celebrate our freedom from baby duty and to rescue you from your fucking dick of a partner."

I laughed again and lifted my head so I could kiss his lips. He cradled my cheek and he tasted like spearmint gum, my favorite.

"I have missed you so much," I whispered, aware that the taxi driver was in the car.

"I missed you, too," he said, kissing me again, gently, lovingly.

We got to the restaurant and I excused myself to go to the ladies' room to freshen up. I wasn't expecting to go out after work. I looked myself over in the mirror. I winced at the sight of my reflection. I was a mess. My hair was falling out of the loose bun I had whipped up this morning. No wonder both Edward and James were compelled to touch it. I had terrible dark circles under my eyes and chambray shirt was looking nice and wrinkled. Using my fingers as a comb, I tried to detangle the mop on top of my head. I decided leaving it down would look better at this point. At least I could hide my face behind it. I smoothed out my eyebrows, as if that would help, and pulled my chapstick out of my pocket. Soft lips would have to be better than nothing. I felt bad that I wasn't a little more girly. I didn't carry lipstick, lip gloss, or make up in general. I was so plain looking. Insecurity welled up in me when I thought about how incredible Edward looked. Maybe I should have asked him to take me home first so I could make myself more presentable. Not to mention I was wearing my gun and badge. That was a real good look.

When I reentered the lobby Edward was chatting with the hostess who was practically drooling. They were discussing the flowers he was holding. He was shuffling the bouquet back and forth from hand to hand. Edward saw me and his face brightened with a grin that could make every woman in this place drop her panties. It never got old that this smile was just for me. He only wanted my panties on the floor. The hostess sighed sadly at the sight of him taking my hand in his and kissing me on the cheek. She gave me a judgmental once over with her eyes, stopping at the weapon on my hip. Immediately she flushed and lead us to our table. _That's right, I could shoot you, you little flirt._

"I'm glad you took your hair down. You look beautiful," he said once we were left alone.

I rolled my eyes, he forgot I just looked at myself in the mirror.

"I was thinking I should be mad at you for not letting me go home and clean up. I mean look at you and then look at me," I waved my hand between us.

"What? You look great. You always look great. You are the prettiest woman in the room," he replied, trying to get me to blush, which of course I did.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Cullen."

"God, I hope so, Mrs. Cullen," he smirked as he opened his menu.

Dinner was pleasant. We talked about his conversation with Rosalie and we shared a couple funny stories about our time with Lily. It was so good to see Edward laugh. I loved the way his eyes scrunched up when he did. His laughter was infectious and I found myself covering my mouth a couple times to quiet down the loud guffaws. It felt like it had been forever and a day since he and I had just had fun together. After Edward told me the story about him and Renee giving Lily a bath in the kitchen sink with dishwashing soap, we agreed to not talk about Rose, Emmett, or Lily anymore tonight.

We started talking about my work week. I told Edward about the case James and I were working on. We had trouble getting a warrant to search Jenks' place today. The ADA asked us to find some more witnesses that saw Jenks and Angela together and more importantly some evidence she had visited his home. We spent the rest of the day running down people from the gym and neighbors of Jenks. Edward was paying attention but seemed edgy every time I mentioned James' name so I decided to ask him about his week instead. His posture changed immediately when he began talking about the different ideas he had brought to life the last ten days. He was so animated when he spoke. He used his hands more and his leg bounced under the table. His brilliant green eyes flashed with such fervor as he described the pictures they took by the lake earlier this week. This was the Edward that made me head over heels, crazy in love.

"Well, Victoria has me shooting both film and on my digital. I love film, I hate processing it. I mean, I know some photographers who live for the dark room but that's not my thing, I guess," he shrugged and took a sip of his wine.

"Have you developed very many of the pictures yet?" I was curious as to when I was going to see some of these pictures. So far, he had only mentioned taking pictures of her fully clothed.

"No, we're going to have to find a place where I can develop all the film. I have everything I took digitally downloaded on a computer back at the studio. We should go over there after dinner. I could show you what I've done so far," his eyes lit up at the prospect which made me giddy. He wanted to share this with me. I was glad he wanted me to and that nothing was stopping me from doing so. We had no one to worry about at this moment but the two of us.

"I would love that," I said, intertwining my fingers with his on the table.

Edward pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. He was so damn sexy. He could make me dizzy with just a look.

After dinner, we took a cab to the studio that Victoria had rented for him. Edward had explained the placed belonged to some longtime friend of Victoria's so she was able to get it for an extended period of time at a fraction of what something like this would usually cost. It was a cool space with a small little client area to your right when you walked in. There were two couches, two chairs, and a coffee table at one end of the space and a small minibar area at the other end. In the studio area, the ceilings were high, maybe fifteen or twenty feet. There were five big windows along the north-side wall. The other walls were white and Edward had some large curtains hanging as backdrops and some photography studio lights with the little umbrellas set up. In the back there was a small dressing area and I saw several outfits crammed on a rack that Victoria must have left behind. In the middle of the studio area was a big, chaise lounger. It was covered in black velvet and there were a couple throw pillows on it. My curiosity was piqued. I really hoped I saw pictures of her on the chaise. Hopefully in a turtleneck and pants.

"Have you guys shot here a lot?" I asked looking around.

"No, just last night and a couple nights in the beginning. We've been all over town actually. This is kind of our home base. We meet here, talk about what we want to do that day and then she gets ready here before we head out. Come here, I'll show you," he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the couch. He sat down next to me and we waited for the computer to boot up.

"You want something to drink? We have some water and I think some Diet Coke. Victoria will only drink Diet Coke. I made the mistake of getting Diet Pepsi one day, you would have thought I was asking her to drink motor oil or something," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm fine. I just want to see the pictures," I said, trying to not sound too anxious. He seemed to pick up on the anticipation in my voice.

"She's wearing clothes in all of these pictures, by the way," he reassured me with a smile.

"Oh," I tucked my hair behind my ear as I shook my head, "not that it matters. It's just art. I've seen nude pictures before," I said, failing miserably at being breezy about it.

He tried to hold in his laugh, "Right. Of course."

He leaned in a kissed me on the lips. When he pulled away I realized I really wanted more of that. _Why were we here again?_ His computer hummed to life and he was clicking away trying to open up what he wanted to show me. _Pictures, that's why._

He opened up a file and there was Victoria looking more beautiful than I remembered. _Holy cow._ She was absolutely breathtaking. He shuffled through a few of them.

"Edward, these are amazing," I gushed. He beamed with pride.

"You think? I don't know what they'll look like when I develop the shots I took on film. But these are nice. I love the way she's standing in this one," he pointed to the screen and then clicked on another similar shot.

"You totally rocked this, baby. Has Victoria seen these yet?" I wondered if they sat like this looking at how he had captured the very best of her in all of these shots.

"We look at them together in between wardrobe changes or at the end of the night. She's been pretty happy."

"She should be more than happy. She should bowing down and kissing your feet. You have made her look unreal in some of these pictures. Then in others, it's like she's just a girl. Like the rest of us."

His hand flew to my face, "You are not just a girl. If you would only let me take pictures of you like this, you would see what I see."

My stomach did a backflip and bit my lip quickly before diving in for another kiss with him. When he said stuff like that it was like a jolt of lightning, electrifying. He kissed me back with as much eagerness as I was trying to convey.

He pulled back first and let out a whimper, "We've been out of sync for too long. I didn't realize how much I _need_ you."

"I'm right here," I said breathlessly.

He set his computer on the coffee table in front of us and then grabbed my face in both of his hands. Pulling me close, he wasted no time and began kissing me hard. My hands roamed his chest, the cashmere felt so soft to the touch. Our tongues rolled around and even though he no longer tasted like spearmint, he was my favorite flavor.

"Let me take some pictures of you," he said against my skin as he moved his mouth along my jaw.

"You take lots of pictures of me," I countered letting one of my hands wander down into his lap.

He let out a grateful moan, "See what you do to me?"

I laughed as he made his way back to my mouth. He pulled back again and looked at me with eyes full of lust and wanting, "I want to take pictures of you, just _you_."

He stared at me for a moment while I processed what he was asking. He wanted to take pictures of me. Just me. Nothing else? No clothes? _No clothes!_ My eyes widened as I realized what he was asking.

Now I was the one pulling away, "No, no, no. I couldn't. I can't. No way."

"Bella, would you please trust me? These would be for you and me and no one else. I swear. I just want to show you how beautiful you are. It won't be a trick of makeup or fancy clothes. I'll show you that you, simply you, are the most incredible thing ever," his eyes searched mine for some hope, some sign that I might be willing to give in.

"It's too... embarrassing," I scoffed.

"Embarrassing to be naked in front of your husband? You never need to be embarrassed in front of me. Please. If you hate it, we'll delete everything immediately. I swear," his desperation to make this happen was evident.

Fifteen minutes later I found myself sitting in front of the little vanity and mirror they had set up in the dressing area. I was brushing my hair, wasting time so I could think of a really good reason to talk him out of doing this. Maybe if I dropped the robe and then jumped him he would be too caught up in wanting to have sex to remember he wanted to take pictures. We hadn't had sex since that day he came home all excited about this whole photo exhibit business with Victoria. Victoria. She wouldn't be sitting here all nervous and self-conscious. Edward's not even her husband and she probably would drop the robe without a second thought. They must not have taken any naked pictures yet. He didn't have any on his computer from what I saw. She's so going to have him take pictures of her naked and she's going to love every minute of it. I exhaled sharply. Edward was my husband. He's seen every inch of me. He has touched or kissed every part of my body. There was no shame in him seeing me. No one was going to see these pictures except for us. I needed to pull my shit together. I messed with my hair a little more and ran my fingers under my eyes. I needed some cover up. The circles under my eyes were not attractive. Victoria had a ton of crap sitting on the vanity. I picked up some of the jars and bottles, finally coming across some face powder. I needed just a smidge to make me feel better. She had a giant makeup brush sitting there as well. I swirled the brush lightly in the powder and then ran it gently under my eyes and around my cheeks. I couldn't tell in this light if it was really doing me any good. I took another deep breath and tried to give myself a mental pep talk.

_Edward loves you. Edward loves __**you**__. He could have anyone and he chose you. You are a beautiful and attractive woman. You can be sexy and it is ok to be sexy. Sexy is good. Sexy is strong. Edward loves you. Show him how much you love him._

"I'm ready when you are," Edward said, breaking my concentration. I turned my head to him.

"I'm ready," I said trying to sound brave.

His smile lit up his face. He walked over and knelt in front of me. I didn't realize I was biting my lip until he freed it with his finger.

"You are so beautiful, Bella. Anytime you want to stop, just say so," he reassured me, running the back of his hand across my cheek.

"I have final say on what gets deleted," I reminded him. He narrowed his eyes at me. I knew he didn't want to agree, fearing I would choose to delete them all no matter what. "Final say or the robe stays on."

"Fine. Final say is yours but please promise me you are going to keep an open mind," he pleaded.

"Sweetie, I'm sitting here in Victoria's fucking silk robe with absolutely nothing else on underneath. I think I have been very open minded thus far."

He looked down at the ground as he laughed. His eyes came up to meet mine again.

"You have been extremely open minded. Now bring that gorgeous body out here so we can get started."

He gave me a quick kiss before he hopped up and walked back around to where we were going to shoot. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I stood up and made my way to the chaise. I sat down with the robe still on. Edward was messing with the lights and equipment. I nervously wove the satiny belt of the robe through my fingers. I was going to chicken out. I leaned back on the chaise and lifted my legs up sliding them underneath me.

"I think I need Rose's big blue fucking diamond necklace," I said watching him fix the lighting.

His forehead crinkled in confusion, "Why in the world would you need that?"

"I feel like Rose."

He again looked at me befuddled.

"Not Rosalie, ha, I never thought about that before. Her dad got her a giant blue diamond and her name is Rose. That is so hilarious."

Edward stopped what he was doing to focus all his attention on my crazy.

"Not Rosalie our sister-in-law, but Rose from Titanic. You know, the movie? Rose wears the necklace when she poses for Jack." I got into the same pose from the movie. "At least I don't have to sit still while you sketch me. Thank god for technology," I rambled because of my uneasiness.

Edward shook his head and grinned, "Are you ok? Take a deep breath and relax. I've seen you naked before."

"I know," I said defensively.

He picked up his camera and stood before me. He pressed a button on some little remote he pulled out of his pocket. Music began filtering through the room by way of speakers that were hidden from view. Dave Matthews Band, Crash. It was our song. Well, it was Edward's song that he said made him feel like Dave Matthews stole the thoughts right out of his head and the feelings from his soul.

_**You've got your ball, you've got your chain. Tied to me tight, tie me up again. Who's got their claws in you my friend? Into your heart I'll beat again. Sweet like candy to my soul. Sweet you rock, and sweet you roll. Lost for you, I'm so lost for you.**_

Edward loved me more than he loved anyone or anything else. He felt like he was inexplicably tied to me forever. It was the most glorious feeling, being wanted that way.

"Bella?" he finally said, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready?" he asked looking from my face to my body and then back again.

I let out a nervous giggle, "Sorry. I guess I have to take the robe off, huh?"

"Only when you're ready, baby. Would it help if I took my sweater off? If we both were naked?"

"No! Geez, then this would only be weirder. Please keep your clothes on until we're done, that is."

"Whatever you say, Mrs. Cullen," he said with that damn crooked smile.

Oh, what that man and his smile did to me_._ I listened to the words of the song and let them push me forward. Trying to find the hidden sex kitten inside, I closed my eyes and tugged on the belt to unknot it.

_**T****ouch your lips just so I know. In your eyes, love, it glows. So I'm bare-boned and crazy... for you.**_

I opened my eyes and kept them focused on him. He was crazy about me. I could see it in his eyes. I imagined that was how I looked at him. I stood up and slipped out of the robe, handing it to him. Completely exposed, I suddenly felt empowered.

Edward tossed the robe behind him and held his camera up.

"Let's start with something easy. Why don't you kneel on the chaise with your body turned away from me. I want to see your back and I want you to look at me over your shoulder."

I did as he said and climbed on the chaise, sitting on my heels. I wasn't sure what to do with my arms. I let my hands fall into my lap and I turned my head to look at him over my shoulder.

_**Oh, I watch you there through the window and I stare at you, you wear nothing, but you wear it so well. Tied up and twisted, the way I'd like to be for you, for me, come crash into me, baby. Come crash into me. **_

He walked over and swept my hair away so it fell down my back and was out of my face.

"Perfection," he whispered as he kissed my shoulder before stepping back.

I surely didn't need any makeup to pink up my cheeks. I could accomplish that all on my own. Even though the butterflies were having their way with my stomach, I realized I wasn't as nervous I thought I would be. Edward moved one of the umbrella things on one of the lights and then began taking pictures.

He would direct me now and again, move my arm or my hair before returning to his camera. He was very professional in that respect. However, the way he looked at me was anything but professional. He still had that lustful look on his face. He looked at me like I was a goddess and I was starting to feel like one. My nervousness was turning into arousal. I was not only surviving the naked photo shoot, I was actually enjoying it. We took pictures for a good fifteen minutes.

"Is there something you want to do?" he asked while I was lying on my stomach. I felt the heat rise between my legs at the loadedness of that question.

"I want... you to put the camera down," I answered holding my head up with my hand.

"Has it been that terrible?" he asked, misunderstanding my desire.

I rolled to my side, exposing the front of my body to him. I thought I heard his breathing hitch.

"No. I just want... you," I said looking up at him through my lashes.

He put the camera down and without a second thought, he pulled his sweater over his head and tossed it on the floor.

"Thank god. I don't think I could take much more," he nearly whimpered.

He kicked off his shoes and dropped his pants. There was no time for foreplay, the photo shoot had taken care of that part of tonight's lovemaking. Now, we were going to connect. Physically and emotionally. He felt incredible. I let him crash into me. Just like the song. His mouth, his tongue, his body on me, in me. The pleasure was all-encompassing and overwhelming. I came over and over. I don't know how he maintained his self-control. Maybe I was more easily sent over the edge because I had released the sex kitten from within. Maybe it was because he had made me feel like the most desirable woman in the entire world. When he finally came, I screamed out his name as the wave of my own orgasm took over. We collapsed onto the chaise and both fell into a deep and well-deserved sleep.

We didn't intend on falling asleep and spending the night there but that was what happened. Tangled up in each other we both slept soundly the entire night. That was until her screaming woke us both from our blissful slumber.

"Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me!"

**A/N: Crash by Dave Matthews Band and Twilight, not mine. I love that song. Sexy as hell. I didn't really think I would ever have her do this but Edward was begging me and I couldn't resist. He can be very persuasive when he wants to be, you know? Plus it helped with the drama that will ensue because Bella never thought she would ever do that, it was truly her gift to him, proof that she loves and trust him completely. **


	14. Chapter 14 Delete Them

**A/N: I'm going to try to post a new chapter every time I get 100 visitors to the previous chapter so if you want more, send your friends this way! **

** Messy, messy, these two have gotten so messy. Just when I was making Bella a little more likable Edward pushes her back into bitchyland. Let the fun begin...**

_  
Trying to be perfect  
Trying not to let you down  
Honesty is honestly the hardest thing for me right now  
While the floors underneath our feet are crumbling,  
The walls we built together tumbling  
I stand here holding up the roof  
Cause it's easier than telling the truth  
_The Truth - Kris Allen

EPOV

I never thought that I would ever in a million years get Bella to let me take pictures of her. I don't know what I said or what I did to convince her but it really didn't seem to take much. It was so much better than I imagined. She was so damn nervous at first, it was actually pretty adorable. To think that someone as beautiful as Bella would be shy about the way she looked was mind-boggling. Yet, her humble opinion of herself is what makes her all the more attractive.

I tried to play it cool while I took the pictures. I limited the amount of touching I did because seeing her, lying there in front of me, all vulnerable and shit, made all the blood in my body flow directly to my groin. It's amazing I didn't forgo the whole photoshoot and just ravish her immediately. The ravishing still happened, just not right away. Her confidence grew as the session proceeded. Halfway through, I detected a different look in her eye. She held her head a little higher and her shoulders slumped a little less. The smile on her face and the way she would tug on her bottom lip with her teeth became less about her uneasiness and more about flirting with the camera and with me. _Holy fuck, was it hot._

Bella was my dream come true. She was the perfect combination of innocence, bravery, and unadulterated sexiness. Making love to her after it was all over was the icing on the best fucking cake I have ever had. We swiftly fell into a deep sleep, unburdened by any of the craziness that had overwhelmed us the last month.

That was until Victoria fucked everything up.

"Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me!" she screamed. I opened my eyes, disoriented and unsure of where I was and what was happening.

Bella curled up in a little ball on my chest, covering her lady parts the best she could with her hands and my body. I shifted her underneath me and covering myself with my hand scrambled to grab my pants and boxers that were laying on the ground in front of me. I slipped into my pants and then snatched up the robe to cover Bella.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, flushed with embarrassment.

"What am I doing here? I pay the rent, need I remind you?" her face was full of fury and her curly red hair fell around her face like a fiery cloud.

"No, I'm sorry. I brought Bella here to show her some of the pictures we've taken so far and well, we took advantage of having some alone time. We didn't mean to still be here," I explained, looking over my shoulder at Bella who was now covered by Victoria's silk robe and who's face was the color of Victoria's hair.

"Really? How interesting. Did you show her all the pictures?" she asked quirking an angry eyebrow at me.

I knew right away what pictures she was referring to and I so did not want to go there right now. Bella had stood up and was making her way to her clothes when Victoria's question made her stop in her tracks.

"I showed her everything that was downloaded on the computer, Victoria. We're going to get our stuff and get out of here. Sorry for overstepping my bounds with this place," I said snatching my sweater off the ground and slipping it over my bare chest. Bella resumed her trek to her clothes after shooting me a wary glance.

Victoria folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to her other foot. She watched me as I retrieved my camera off the floor as well. Her eyes widened as she put two and two together.

"You took pictures of her," her voice suddenly more hurt than angry. "You brought her here the night after _us_ and took pictures of her and then you..." she didn't finish her sentence and I knew this was going to end worse than I had hoped.

"That's not really any of your business, Victoria. If you want I will happily reimburse you for the use of the studio."

"Not my business?" her voice rose with each word, "You are quite the operator Mr. Cullen. Did he offer you a few glasses of wine before you started, Bella?" Victoria side stepped so Bella was in her full view.

I mirrored her move, placing myself in between the two of them.

"Victoria, what my wife and I do has absolutely nothing to do with the job I am doing for you. Please, just let us leave," I implored her with my eyes but was met with cold indifference.

"Did he offer to take off his shirt so you would feel more comfortable taking off yours?" she spat. Her eyes never left mine but her wrath was clearly directed at Bella.

"Stop it," I warned. I looked over my shoulder to see Bella freeze in the middle of buttoning up her shirt. That look of complete devastation I feared crushed me right where I stood.

"Well, I don't know if I should be offended or flattered. Obviously we lit the match and Bella blew it out, huh?" Victoria went on.

_Bitch._

"Don't be this way. Don't hurt her to get back at me. I have never been anything but honest with you. I love my wife and you know that."

We stared at each other for a brief moment. In the last two weeks, I thought I had gotten to know Victoria. I had met her mother and her grandmother. Victoria's grandmother had Alzheimer's and didn't remember her or her mother any longer but I saw Victoria treat her with such kindness and compassion. I saw her be a real person, someone who had a life full of hopes and dreams as well as fears and losses. In this moment though, all I saw was a spiteful monster, incapable of seeing past her own ego to realize the damage she was inflicting and too selfish to care.

"I came for a dress," she said cooly, ignoring everything that just occurred. She stepped around me and headed for the clothing rack by the dressing room.

Bella was fully dressed and for a second I thought she might crack Victoria's neck with her bare hands. Instead she walked over to the kitchenette area where she had left her gun and badge. She holstered her weapon and clipped her badge on her belt after she tucked in her shirt.

Victoria found her dress and headed for the door, "Be sure to lock up and see to it that the chaise and the robe are disposed of before we return on Monday."

She shut the door behind her and rubbed my face with both hands.

"I can explain," I started but Bella wouldn't let me finish.

"I'm sure you can but I think I already offered you that opportunity," she cut me off with a voice so cold it broke my heart.

I walked toward her. She retreated a step and her hand immediately fell to her hip and rested on her gun. I didn't think for a second she'd shoot me but there was something telling in the way she shied away.

"Nothing happened. Nothing happened between me and Victoria and that's why she's pissed. She wanted something to happen. She thought something was going to happen and it didn't. She knows that the only person I want is you. Today confirmed that and she's just jealous. You have to believe me."

Her eyes narrowed and she was breathing hard again, "I _have_ to believe you? I don't _have_ to believe anything. Why should I believe you?"

"Because it's the truth! I swear to God, it's the truth. I have never lied to you," I realized my mistake a second too late. Her eyes almost popped out of her head and there was a vein in forehead that bulged out in a way I'd never seen before.

"You've never lied to me? Do you even fucking hear the shit that comes out of your mouth? You're going to explain why you lied to me yesterday in the same fucking breath as you deny ever lying? That's fucking classic." The f-word in almost every sentence. She was going to kill me; she was that pissed.

"I didn't mean it that way. I mean, I'm telling you the truth now. I didn't tell the whole truth before because it was just going to make you mad. She came on to me. I should have told you but I knew you'd just want to kick her ass and I didn't want to get you all upset over something that meant nothing, to me at least."

"Oh, I want to kick someone's ass but it isn't Victoria's," she said pressing some buttons on her phone and holding it to her ear. "Yes, I need a cab..." she proceeded to call a cab to the studio to take us home.

I wandered away to grab my shoes so we could go. I couldn't think of anything to say that was going to make this better. Lily had been right. I should have told her the truth yesterday then none of this would have soured what I would consider one of the best fucking nights of my life.

Bella had walked back to the dressing area and now had the silk robe in her hands. Then she pulled the flowers I had given her last night out of a makeshift vase and disappeared outside without a word. I packed up my camera quickly and decided to take it home with me in case Victoria came back and destroyed it or something. Once outside, I found Bella standing in the alley by a dumpster, no longer holding the robe or the flowers.

"You didn't have to throw the robe away. She was being a total bitch," I said waiting for her by the street. I decided to not even mention the flowers. I knew damn well why she tossed them.

She didn't say anything but stormed past me. We stood in silence as I tried to come up with some magic words to make this better. I figured it was best to ask her. Whatever she needed I would give her. I shoved my hands into my pockets so they wouldn't pull my hair out.

"Just tell me what I can do or say to make this better. I swear to you that last night was totally the most awesome night of my life. The fact that you would share yourself with me like that means more to me than anything. It was nothing like the work I do with Victoria. It meant something completely different. You can't even compare last night to the work I did for Victoria. Tell me what to do," I implored her, turning to face her even though she wouldn't look at me. She didn't answer.

The cab pulled up and she opened the door. She didn't scoot over so I could get in.

"You can get your own cab, that's what you can do," she said slamming the door shut. I stood, stunned as I saw her say something to the cab driver. She looked at me through the window, her eyes focused on the camera bag hanging from my shoulder. She said something to the driver before rolling down the window just a couple inches.

"I want you to delete them _all_," she said before the driver took off.

My head lolled back and I looked up at the bright blue sky. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the city was in weekend mode. Yet, everything was wrong. I imagined the birds were plotting to shit on my head any minute.

When I got home I found a very pissed off Rosalie sitting on the couch with Lily and no Bella in sight. The look on Rose's face told me Bella was or had been here.

"What the hell did you do?" Rose asked full of protective rage.

"Where is she?" I asked, avoiding eye contact and setting down my camera.

"She's in the shower. I guess she needed to wash off something pretty horrible. Care to explain?" Rosalie asked, setting Lily on her lap to join in the stare down. Lily let out a loud noise, voicing her displeasure as well.

"I know, Lil. I screwed up. I should have listened to you."

Rosalie looked at me like the crazy bastard I was. I walked back to the bedroom still complete clueless as to what to say to Bella so she wouldn't be mad.

"You two are lucky I didn't notice you didn't come home last night! I would have had the whole freaking CPD looking for your asses, by the way!" Rose called after me.

Bella came out of the bathroom, surprised to see me sitting on the bed. She pulled on her towel in an apparent attempt to cover herself up as much as possible. My shoulders sagged as I felt the fear run through me that she would never let me see her naked again.

"Bella," I began only to be interrupted once again by her emotionless voice.

"I need to go to work. I don't want to talk about this right now," she said pulling some underwear and clothes out of her dresser before heading back into the bathroom.

I followed her to the door that she promptly shut in my face. I pressed my forehead to the door, "It's Saturday. You don't have to go to work. Please don't do this. Please talk to me. I don't care if all you do is yell. Just don't shut me out."

She didn't respond but when she came out fully dressed, with her hair still wet but in a ponytail. I knew she wasn't planning on staying.

"Bella," I was ready to beg. I grabbed her arm as she tried to walk out. She stopped moving but wouldn't turn to face me. "Please."

"Let me go. You asked me what you could do to make it better. That's what you can do. Let me go," she pleaded on the verge of tears. I knew she didn't want to cry. She never wanted to cry. _Fuck!_ Why did I let this become something that could make her cry?

"I'm going to let you go but I am going to be here when you get home and we are going to talk. I love you. You know that I do. You know there is no one but you." I let go of her arm and she walked out, not looking back. I saw her hand quickly move to her face and wipe her cheek. I fucking made her cry. I heard her apologizing to Rosalie and offering no excuse except that she needed to check on a case and that she would be home later. How did we go from happy newlyweds a month ago to this? How could things get this bad so fast? I walked out into the living room in time to see her fleeing out the front door.

"Nice work, bonehead," Rosalie said from the couch.

I took a deep breath and then plopped my sorry ass in the chair.

"Ready to explain?" Rosalie was fucking relentless.

"Not to sound like a total prick, but it really isn't any of your business," I said cocking my head in her direction.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about sounding like a total prick, the fact that she just left here crying pretty much confirms the fact that you are. As far as this is none of my business, let me remind you of a couple things. That woman saved my life. She saved my life and took a bullet doing so. She was my best friend before that and after that she became my sister. I owe her more than I will ever be able to pay back. So if someone hurts her, they deal with me. I'd also like to take this moment to point out that she also pretty much saved your life as well. Not in the same sense as she did for me, but considering the sad and lonely path you had set for yourself before she came into your life, I think we can both agree that if it weren't for her you would be a whole lot worse off."

Her words sunk in hard and I had no reason to argue. She was 100% right.

"I'm not going to argue with you Rosalie. No one knows better than I do that she is the best fucking thing to ever happen to me. Don't think for a second that I don't know that. I also don't take it for granted. I never intended to hurt her. I hate that I hurt her. I didn't tell her something I thought would make her upset and instead I made her more than upset. That's my only crime," I confessed.

"You two are so busy trying to make sure the other one doesn't get hurt by someone or something else, that you don't realize that you two are the only ones hurting each other. Come on Edward, if you can't tell her the truth, who can you tell? This is the same conversation I had with her not so long ago. If you guys don't trust each other, what are you doing? How are you going to make it?"

Rosalie left me to think on that as she went to go change Lily's diaper. She was right again. Victoria couldn't bring us down but me not telling Bella about Victoria's misguided feelings for me could and did. Of course, truth be told, I was protecting myself more than I was protecting Bella. I couldn't bear to see the look on her face when I told her the truth. I couldn't stand what she would have been thinking but wouldn't say or worse, what she would say. I didn't want to disappoint her even though I should have trusted her to have my back even if I had screwed up. I wussed out, convincing myself I was doing her the favor. Not only was I a coward but I had lost faith in her somewhere along the line.

I needed to figure out how to fix this and fast, before the life we were building together came crashing down.

**A/N: Mad? Sad? Will she forgive him? What do you think?**


	15. Chapter 15 Finding the Truth

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! I do take what you guys say into consideration as I write. This chapter is a long one, let me know what you think.**

BPOV

I sat on the L headed towards the station thinking the same thing I had been thinking all morning. How the hell did I go from feeling like the most special person in the world to a dirty, stupid, pathetic moron who shouldn't be able to call herself a detective. A real detective, like James, would have seen all the signs that pointed to the truth. My husband was a lying, cheating, son of a bitch. Did I really believe him when he told me the scratches on his back were from her grabbing him when she slipped? I didn't even question it. I just let him give me the lamest excuse ever. Did I really think she could scratch him like that through his clothes? Was I that naive? Then he brings me there, the chaise lounger sitting there as a reminder to him of what happened the night before, and what does he do? He talks me into reenacting the whole thing. Maybe he didn't follow through with her. Maybe he felt guilty enough that he stopped from having sex with her but maybe she was right, they had started something that needed to be finished. He used me to do that. That's how I felt. Used. By my own husband. If I had anything in my stomach, I would have thrown it up. I felt nauseous all morning. To think I let him take pictures of me, let him make me believe that what we were doing was something so special, something he had only experienced with me. I was a pathetic moron.

I needed to go to work and do something productive. I needed to find someone that saw Angela Cheney by Jenks' residence. I needed to redeem myself. This was the only way I could think how. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't be in the same room as Edward without wanting to kill him, so it was best I stayed away.

The office was quiet on the weekends. Stefan and Brady were the only detectives that worked Saturdays and Sundays. They were both a little surprised to see me walk in.

"Cullen, what the hell are you doing here?" Brady asked, looking up from the sudoku game he had going on his computer.

"Well, I can see how busy you guys are, I figured I'd come in on my day off and lessen your load."

"Nice, what you thought we couldn't watch your Facebook and Twitter pages on our own?" Stefan chimed in.

I made my way to my desk and turned on my computer. "I'm sure you guys are more than capable, but I have a hunch I'm going to find something today."

"Good luck with that," Brady laughed, turning back to his computer game.

"I thought you two were working on that burglary on Diversey?" I said trying to get the focus off of me.

"Yeah. We got nothing. Nobody saw anything and there were no fingerprints or physical evidence pointing to anyone outside the home. I'm pretty sure it was the loser son that still lives there but the poor woman doesn't want to admit it. I hate being the guy that has to tell someone their loved one has hoodwinked the shit out of them. It's amazing how fucking blind love can make people, you know?" Brady went on. Little did he know how his words stung, like a sharp smack to the face.

"Yeah, some people don't see what's right in front of them, do they?" I said with my heart in my throat.

I needed to work, to distract myself, or I was going to lose it. I went over my notes and stared at the evidence board for an hour. I went over the timelines in my head trying to find something that would lead to some answers.

"Swan! I mean, Cullen, whatever you go by now. Come here," Captain's voice pulled me from my tangled thoughts. I walked back to his office, I hadn't realized he was even here.

"Sir?" I said stepping in and standing in front of his desk.

"Sit. I wanted to talk to you about how things are going," he said folding his hands on his desk. I did as he said and sat down.

"How things are going with the case?" I asked needing clarification because there were a lot of things going at the moment.

"That, and Duncan. How are things going with you and Duncan?" His expression was one of true concern. He knew something but I wasn't sure what he knew or why.

"Fine, his interview skills are sharp. We have a little bit different styles," _and he can be a total pain in my ass._ I couldn't say that though. Captain didn't care about shit like that.

"Fine, huh?" he looked at me disapprovingly, like he knew I was lying. "I got a call from Peter saying he was a little worried. Said he knows you and knows you wouldn't come forward with a complaint until it was maybe too late,"

Peter? Why the hell would Peter call Captain? I had exchanged a bunch of emails with him over the last couple weeks. He mentioned hanging out with Garrett a little bit ago and wasn't pleased to hear how my new partner and I were getting along. I told him James wasn't him and that I was tired of some of his crap but to call Captain over it? Jesus, did these guys think I was a poor little girl that needed to be protected from the big, bad James? Please.

"Duncan and I are doing just fine, sir. I can assure you that I haven't said anything to Peter that would justify him calling you. I'm more than capable of making my own formal complaints if I had any," I assured him. I was a grown woman who was more than able to handle my own shit.

"I just wanted you to know that you can tell me if you're handling things that maybe you shouldn't have to handle, not that you can't handle things. I know you're more than capable of handling all the idiots out there. Duncan's assignment to this district is all very hush hush and I don't need any bullshit. If he's a problem I'd like to get rid of said problem sooner than later. Don't take on troubles you don't need to be burdened with, Cullen," he looked at me thoughtfully. Captain reminded me of my father in so many ways and sometimes that was a good thing and sometimes it made me feel bad. He wasn't my father, he was my boss and he should treat me like he treats all the other idiots, as he put it.

"I hear what you're saying, sir, and I will be sure to document any misbehavior should the need arise. I promise," I replied, wondering if there wasn't anything else.

"Good. Now, what the hell are you doing here on your day off? I thought you guys didn't get the warrant?" he said looking at the stuff on his desk again.

"No, we didn't get the warrant. I guess that's why I'm here. Trying to find something that will convince them to give us one. I got nothing else going on. I'm not going to put in for overtime, I know I didn't ask for it."

"Shit, Cullen. You can have the overtime if you earn it. You sure everything's ok?" he asked looking back at me. There it was again, that fatherly look of concern he gave me when we started this conversation.

"Everything's fine. I just felt like I couldn't leave this until Monday," I replied trying to smile and relieve his concern.

"Ok. That's all," he said dismissively. Back to boss. Obviously, he wasn't that interested in the case update. I nodded and headed back to my desk.

I rubbed my eyes with my hand. I needed to focus if I was going to accomplish my goal of being productive today. I also needed to email Peter. He overstepped his bounds big time and I was pissed. I sent a scathing email that informed him if he ever made a call to the captain regarding me again, we would no longer be friends. I was not some poor, helpless victim that needed someone to tell on the bully for me. I was nobody's victim. James was a dick but I could handle whatever he dished out. Would he have said something if James was Jared's partner and gave him a hard time? Never. Never, never, never. I thought about sending something to Garrett as well. Something told me he's the one who pushed Peter to do this. Since Captain didn't mention him by name, I figured I just say something menacing on Monday.

I decided to look over the Facebook wall. There were fewer and fewer posts as the days went on. All the nut jobs had moved on to other pages. I scanned through the most recent posts and found one that piqued my interest. It was from someone claiming that Angela used to frequent the Starbucks she worked at. She was "freaked out" that someone she "knew" was missing. She went on about how she had this "totally weird feeling" when the guy that this "chick" always came in with started coming in by himself. I clicked on her name to get linked to her profile. The girl, Emily Potter, was in her early twenties. Her profile picture was what I assumed to be her and some guy grabbing her breast at a party. Classy. She had several posts on her wall documenting the inane things she did throughout the day. The last entry was this morning at 7:30 stating she was "off to work, bitches". I needed to find out which Starbucks she worked at. It could be the one by Angela's house and the man could be Ben. It could be one closer to the Sun Times and the guy could be someone she worked with. Or it could be one by the gym or even better J. Jenks' house, and the guy could be Mr. Jenks. I googled Starbucks in Chicago and started making calls. I started with the one by Angela's house to ease my mind. Then I started hitting the ones closest to the gym. Four calls, no Emily. Why the hell are there so many damn Starbucks in this fucking city? Why people pay that much money for a cup of stupid coffee is beyond me. I like coffee but I didn't see the purpose in spending my entire salary on it. The fifth call was to the Starbucks literally a block from Jenks' place. Jackpot. I asked for Emily Potter and the girl who answered put me on hold.

"This is Emily," a voice rang out a minute later.

"Emily, this is Detective Bella Cullen, with the Chicago Police Department. I'm currently investigating the disappearance of Angela Cheney. I'm wondering if you are the same Emily Potter who posted on the Find Angela Now Facebook page?"

"Yes! Oh my god. Are you seriously calling me, like I'm a witness or something?" her voice jumped ten octaves.

"Well, I'm just wondering if I can come show you some pictures and maybe you could help me identify the guy you saw Angela with?"

"Oh my god. Are you kidding me? Is this a prank? Is this Leah? Are you fucking with me right now? I swear, I will kill you," she threatened.

"I am not kidding, and please refrain from killing people, should your friends actually pull a prank on you in the future. I would then need to talk to you for a very different reason."

"Oh my god! So, you're serious? Oh my god."

_Oh my god!_ If she said _oh my god_ one more time I was going to _oh my god_ hurt her.

"So would you be willing to look at some pictures for me?" I asked hoping she would just say yes and we could be done.

"Oh my god! Yeah, sure. Ok. Oh my god."

We worked it out that I would meet her there during her lunch break at 1:00. After I hung up my cell beeped at me. I had a text and it wasn't hard to guess who it was from.

_It's been two hours. I love you. Please come home. _

_Ha._ I wasn't aware that there was a two hour time limit on how long someone could be mad. I decided to text back even though part of me wanted to jut let him sweat it out.

_Following up a lead. May not be home until tonight._

If Rosalie wasn't there I wouldn't come home at all. I could only imagine what he told her was the problem. No matter what he said, she was probably raking him over the coals anyway. She had seen that I was crying when I left. Being a very smart girl, I'm sure she had him pegged as the reason for my distress. Leaving him with her was pretty good revenge. He texted back right away.

_I'll be waiting. No matter how long you avoid me._

He should be glad I'm avoiding him, he could be dead right now considering how homicidal I was feeling earlier. I needed to make one more phone call and I wasn't sure if it was going to make my day worse or not.

"Izzy B is calling me on a Saturday? To what do I owe the pleasure?" He was much too chipper for his own good.

"Well, I found something that could help us get the warrant to Jenks' place. Are you interested in putting in some overtime so we can run down a lead?"

"If by putting in some time you mean spending my Saturday with you, my answer is absolutely yes. Where you at?"

I rolled my eyes even though he was here to appreciate it. "I'm at the station. Meet me here and then we'll head over to the Starbucks by Jenks."

"You want to see me and take me out for coffee? Is this like your secret way of asking me out on a date, Izzy? You don't have to come up with stories about leads, I'll meet you anywhere, anytime," he said playfully. This was the shit that had everybody worried about me. I wasn't going to report his ass - yet.

"In your dreams, buddy. Meet me at the station."

"You are the star of most of my dreams, Iz-" I hung up, unable to listen to anymore garbage. Good thing I hadn't eaten all day the nausea was coming back.

He showed up about twenty minutes later with a smug expression on his face. I explained what I had found and who we were going to meet. I pulled out the pictures of Jenks, Ben Cheney, and a picture of Angela with some people from work. This way I could rule out anyone that might have been with her. James kept staring at me like he was trying to figure me out. I did not need him trying to figure me out today of all days. In order to keep him distracted, I let him drive us over to the coffee shop. Once we got in the car, though, he started running through his theories.

"Something happened," he said pulling out.

"Something happened?" I repeated.

"Something happened that has you upset. What happened? Was it CK? It was CK, wasn't it. Pretty boy brought you flowers yesterday because he fucked something up, didn't he?" he questioned while I directed my attention out the side window, hiding my face from him as much as possible.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I sighed.

"What did he do? He did something bad to make you come to work on a Saturday and not want to spend time with him instead. You're letting me drive, you never let me drive. So you must be hoping that I'll be so distracted by getting to drive that I won't figure out what's bothering you. You look well rested. The dark circles under your eyes are much better. You must have gotten some sleep last night. So, it happened this morning after your good night's sleep, otherwise you would have been up all night over-thinking it like you're doing right now. Let's see, he confessed this morning that he's really gay and he's moving out to live with his lover?" he said leaning forward, trying to see my face when we stopped at a light. "No, he's not gay, is he? Pretty but not gay. So if it isn't a guy that he went after, it would be another woman. Am I right? He's a fucking cheater isn't he?" he guessed as he pushed on my arm.

"Shut the fuck up, James," I said keeping my head turned away from him, as if that was keeping him from figuring it all out in a matter of minutes. He didn't say anything right away so I let my eyes drift over to him.

"My offer still stands to kill the son of a bitch. What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Is he a fucking brainless idiot?" he said clenching the steering wheel tighter and looking as homicidal as I felt earlier.

"You have no idea what you're talking about and if you don't stop threatening my husband I will make a formal complaint to the captain and request a new partner. I am not fucking around here. Got it?" I said looking him full on now.

He returned my look and held it as we came to another stop.

"He doesn't deserve you. That's all I'm saying. Not if he even thought about cheating on you," he paused and I thought I actually saw real concern in his eyes. "I'll shut up now," his jaw was tense as he focused his attention back on the road.

Thank God for small favors. If we talked about this a second longer I might have self-destructed. I did my best to use the quiet time in the car to slam all my walls back into place and reinforce them with every ounce of self-respect I could muster.

We walked into the Starbucks and asked for Emily who turned white as a ghost when she realized we were the cops here to talk to her.

"Oh my god. I can't believe this is happening. I mean this is just like CSI or Law and Order. Oh my god," she prattled on. We sat down at a small table in the corner. Emily looked over at the other girl behind the counter and mouthed _oh my god. _James looked over his shoulder at the girl and waved. The girl behind the counter blanched and busied herself.

"Emily can you tell me if the guy you saw Angela with is in any of these pictures?" I said laying them out in front of her.

"Oh my god. This is so exciting," she giggled. I rolled my eyes and James picked up on my annoyance so he took over with her.

"Do you see him?"

"This is him. Oh my god. This is totally him. Did I just like crack the case? Oh my god." She held up the picture of Jenks and James and I shared a look.

"How often would you say they came in here together when you were working?" James asked.

"Oh my god, like a bunch. I don't know how many exactly. Enough that I recognized her when I saw a flier by my apartment. Her and that guy would get the same thing every time and then leave. They never drank it here. I'm good at remembering what people order, she always got the caramel frap with extra whip. He got a double grande cappuccino, dry. Always."

She was annoying but she was a god damn perfect witness.

"Would you be willing to sign something that says exactly what you just told us?" James asked pulling his card out of his wallet.

"Oh my god! So this is helping, huh? Oh my god," she sputtered. James handed her his card and told her to come by the station on Monday. We couldn't get a warrant on the weekend anyways.

We went back to the car and I actually felt myself smiling. I had accomplished my goal. I had found a real and viable lead and we would get that warrant on Monday to search Jenks' place. Something was going my way today.

"Nice work, Izzy B. Looks like we'll get our warrant after all," James said unlocking the car door for me.

My face fell because now we had nothing else to do, which meant I should go home.

"We should celebrate. Did you have lunch yet? We could get a late lunch before we go back to the station to write this up," he seemed so hopeful. I kind of felt bad. Maybe this was how Edward felt with Victoria. I wasn't going to lead him on though. I certainly wasn't going to offer to take off my shirt or ply him with alcohol and then think he isn't going to get the wrong idea. No, I could see how that might lead to back scratching and rolling around on chaise loungers and god knows what else! My need to be homicidal was creeping back up on me.

"I need to get home. I'll write this up, you can just drop me off," I offered.

"Done with me already, huh?"

"We don't both need to stay and write this up. You should get back to whatever you were planning on doing today," I said trying to be considerate of the fact that I dragged him away from who knows what to come run this lead down with me.

"Izzy, being with you is better than anything I got waiting for me at my apartment," he said with his trademark smirk.

"Give it up, Jimmy, my boy. Never going to happen. Ever. Considering your powers of observation, you would think you would have figured that out already."

"Giving up is for losers and I'm no loser." He left it at that and I just shook my head in defeat.

"Why don't you go home and I'll finish up. Something tells me you need to deal with some stuff at home now that you've solved the problems here at work," he said pulling into the station. I couldn't really argue although the thought of delaying the inevitable was tempting.

I went home after cleaning up my desk and spent the L ride trying to figure out how to handle the conversation I was going to have to have in a few minutes. I had successfully distracted myself for the most part while I worked and now all the feelings I had on this train earlier were remerging.

I walked in the door and Edward leapt off the couch but hesitated to greet me. He didn't say anything, he just looked at me for a sign that I had come in peace. I went to hang up my coat and secure my gun. Rosalie peeked her head out of the kitchen, holding Lily.

"She's baaaaack," she said raising her eyebrows playfully.

"Sorry, Rose."

"Don't even go there," she gave me the sympathy look, I hated the sympathy look. "Lily and I are going to go take a walk around the block a few times. Maybe pop into some of the stores around here. We'll be back in say, an hour?" she said gauging my reaction to the amount of time she would be leaving me alone with him.

An hour should be plenty of time to kill him, hide the body, and clean up.

"Sounds good," I responded in the strongest voice I could manage.

Rose wrangled the monstrosity that was Lily's stroller. Edward and I had left it untouched while she was gone because it looked like you needed a degree in engineering to figure that thing out. She was out the door in ten minutes. She was _good_. Was there nothing that woman couldn't master? It was amazing that I didn't totally hate her for being so perfect. Instead, I loved her like she was my real sister.

I had stayed near the kitchen, avoiding going out to the living room where Edward was standing like a nervous little boy who's mom told him just wait until daddy comes home. His hand was working his hair into a wild mess. Once she left, I made my way out there with a water in hand. I was sure I would need water to keep my throat from closing on me.

"Can I tell you what happened the other night? If I tell you everything start to finish, I think you'll see that we don't need to be in a fight." He sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. Seeing as how I wasn't sure I wouldn't go through with the whole killing him idea, I sat in the chair instead. He visibly deflated at my rebuff. I sat indian style in the chair and folded my arms in front of my chest. You didn't need to be a body language expert to get how I was feeling.

"I don't think I need all the dirty details. I just want answers to a couple questions."

He exhaled and nodded his head, "Go ahead. Ask me anything."

"Did you sleep with her?" The words felt awful coming out of my mouth.

His head snapped up and he looked at me with complete horror on his face.

"Seriously? Do you really need to ask me that?" he looked pained. I almost looked away but I needed to see his eyes when he answered. "I told you nothing happened."

"Immediately you lie, because I know _something_ happened. So, yes I guess I have to ask so I can see your face when you answer because that's the only way I'm going to know if you're telling me the truth," I said pointedly.

He shook his bowed head as he leaned over with his forearms on his knees. Then he lifted his eyes to mine.

"We're married and I guess I don't know what that means to you but to me that means you are it for me. I did not sleep with Victoria and I resent having to say it for you to believe it," his emerald eyes were full of hurt and heartache.

He resented having to answer? I fucking resented having to ask. Fuck him. He's the one who lied. "I'm sorry, did you get those scratches from catching her when she slipped?" I challenged.

"Is that your next question?"

"No, my next question is did you want to? Sleep with her?" I asked biting the inside of my cheek.

He shook his head again and let out another heavy hearted sigh, "Absolutely not."

His dejected eyes stayed fixed on me. They were dark and despondent but they were confirming the truth in his words.

"Did you take your shirt off to get her to take off hers? Like you offered to do for me?" This was one of the things bothering me the most. The flirtatiousness of that offer last night was clear. Had he offered the same to her?

"I offered to get _naked_ for you. I offered to take my shirt off for her. I think that's two different things."

"Really? I don't. Did you share a bottle of wine with her? Did you romance her before she got naked for you?" My fingers pushed into the sides of the plastic water bottle because I wanted to crush something. I wanted to smash, break, or kill _something_.

"I wasn't romancing her. I was trying to relax her. I was trying to make it easier for her. I didn't think about how it was coming across. I was stupid. I didn't realize she was misreading all of my intentions."

"She's not some naive, little girl, Edward. I think Victoria is pretty fucking savvy. You must have been giving off some pretty fucked up signals for her to misread them so badly," I countered slamming the water bottle down on the coffee table.

He threw his arms up in frustration, "I was an idiot. I already said that! I don't take pictures of naked women all the time, Bella! I don't know what to do to make models feel comfortable. I did what I thought would free her from her inhibitions. Obviously, Victoria has fewer inhibitions than most women. I didn't know that until she was dragging me on top of her and digging her nails in my back. We stopped, I stopped it immediately. I apologized for misleading her. I explained myself. I explained that I am very much in love with you, that photographing her was my only objective. This," he waved his hand between us, "is what I feared most in telling you the whole story yesterday. I feared that you would be so disappointed in me for being so stupid, that you would doubt me when I have never wanted anyone but you since you walked into my life." He bowed his head again and raked his fingers through his tousled hair.

I hated that I was actually feeling bad for him. He was so distraught. It should have made me happy considering how angry I was with him, but I wanted to get up and wrap my arms around him more than anything.

"I want to believe you. Just when I think about it, all I can think about is you and her doing what we did. All I can think is, how could you not think about her sexually? How easy it would be for you to use me to release all that pent up sexual frustration."

His eyes flew to mine in an instant, "Use you? Are you kidding me? What the fuck? Seriously, is that what you think?"

He started rocking in his seat and covered his head with his hands. Then he got off the couch and knelt in front of me. He put both of his hands on my face.

"Is that what you think?" he asked in such distress. I shrugged, unable to speak.

"Do you not know what you mean to me? Is that how you see me? Driven by my fucking libido? I love you. I made love to you last night because I am so in love with you. Victoria never once crossed my mind the entire time. Do you know what it does to me that you think this way of me?" He let go of me and dropped his head in my lap as he cried.

_Oh shit. Now I really did it._ The tears were falling from my eyes as well. My hands stroked his hair. I had to console him. I loved him, I loved him from the moment _he_ walked into_ my_ life.

"I'm sorry," I said in a pathetic attempt to ease his pain. He let me hold him this way for a few minutes until he stopped himself from sobbing. Then he sat back up and pulled me into his arms. I unfolded myself and placed a leg on each side of his body. I pressed my face against his shoulder while he squeezed me against him.

"I never want you to think that. I can prove it to you, I can show you. I can show you the difference," he said pulling away and grabbing my face again. His eyes almost wild with emotion. He stood up and walked out of the room.

"I can show you!" he shouted from the bedroom.

He came out with my laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of me. He turned it on and went by the front door to get his camera. He pulled out the memory card and slipped it in the laptop. He wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt and then started hitting buttons on the computer.

I moved closer and wiped the tears from my own face.

"I'll show you the difference in the pictures. You'll see how very different the two nights really were," he said with his eyes fixed on the computer screen.

Oh shit, I was going to look at the naked pictures. Victoria's naked pictures and my naked pictures. I wanted to object but the words wouldn't come. I grabbed the water bottle off the table and guzzled it down like I had been trekking around the desert for days.

"Look, here are the pictures I took of Victoria," he said turning the screen towards me. I felt my stomach clench. I worried the water I just drank was going to come back up.

Victoria was beautiful. No, she was alluring, glamorous, radiant. She had her hair down and she was wearing a bunch of beads around her neck and big, chunky bracelets on her wrists. The thing I noticed most was how I wasn't focused on her being naked. She kind of looked like some model in the high end magazines, the ones that are naked and but somehow selling jeans or some shit like that. A lot of the pictures he took of her were zoomed in so you didn't see anything but an arm, the graceful lines of her neck, her legs stretched out and slightly bent at the knee. Some of those he had also made into black and white. Her skin was such a contrast to the black velvet chaise. I expected her desire for my husband to be written all over her face. I expected that with each picture I would be able to see how he was creating that want and need, like he had done with me. The look on her face, though, was very neutral. Had he directed her so you couldn't tell what she was thinking? There were also ones where he had changed the lighting so she was silhouetted. It was very artistic. Not really erotic. I thought she would go for more erotic but even I could see how he was using light and creating lines and shadows. It wasn't about sex, it was art.

"Now, don't freak out but here are the pictures I took of you. Try not to focus on the fact that you're naked. Just try to see what I saw," he said before pushing the button.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady myself. I wasn't sure what I was expecting with these pictures. When I opened my eyes I was immediately freaked out, I couldn't help it. There I was kneeling on the chaise with my back to him, looking over my shoulder at him and the camera. Oh, you could tell what I was thinking. He clicked to the next one and the next one. These were amazing. I could barely wrap my head around the fact that it was me I was looking at. I was hot. I was smoking hot. I was eye fucking the shit of the camera. Holy cow. He had been very careful to not take full on shots of me. I was almost always covered by my arms or turned away so you just saw the side of my breast. The most you saw was my ass. Which also looked pretty fucking hot, if I do say so myself. These were erotic, tastefully erotic. In fact, as I looked at them and thought back to taking them, I remembered how turned on I had been and how he kept encouraging that arousal with his words and his eyes. I definitely looked aroused. That wasn't what I saw in Victoria's pictures. Maybe she had been turned on my being naked in front of him but that wasn't what he tried to capture. Was it because that wasn't what he was feeling back? In my pictures, he had highlighted my desire, my lust. He had to be feeling it as well. He had felt it, I know because we acted on it. He didn't act on anything with Victoria. The two shoots were different. I saw it, I could feel it.

"Do you see? Do you see how I see you? Do you see how I love you?" he asked, his voice trembling. I looked at him and clamped my teeth down on my bottom lip and nodded. A beautifully relieved smile spread across his face and he took a couple quick breaths like he had been without air for a time.

That's when the buzzer for the door rang.

I jumped up and pressed the button to talk, "Yes?"

"Bells, open up, fast! Please!" Rosalie pleaded.

I pressed the button to buzz her in and opened the front door to our condo and headed down the stairs. Edward jumped up and followed me. Rosalie was struggling to get the stroller into the entryway and close the door behind her. She looked flushed and she was breathing unsteadily. Edward lifted up the stroller easily and we got Rose and Lily back in the condo. I locked the door behind us as Rosalie struggled with shaking hands to undo the straps holding Lily in the carseat. Edward put his hand on her shoulder and offered to help. He released the baby from her restraints and handed her to Rosalie who kissed her and held her close, so close.

"Someone was following us, Bells. Someone was definitely fucking following us."


	16. Chapter 16 Women and Men

**A/N: This should have been posted yesterday but for some reason it couldn't get uploaded. Getting a 100 visitors is easier than it seemed! Keep 'em coming! And review!**

EPOV

There is something in the genetic makeup of a man that makes him feel protective over women. It must have something to do with the fact that we are designed to be stronger and therefore more capable of protecting them from danger. My wife obviously missed this genetics lesson. Once we got Rosalie inside and safely back in our condo, Bella asked her to describe what the guy looked like. Rosalie gave a brief description of a man about six foot four with brown hair, wearing a long black overcoat and black leather gloves. The next thing I know, Bella's retrieving her gun shoving it in her holster and heading for the front door. I had a painful flashback of her racing out of the hotel room to go find Rose a year and a half ago.

"Whoa, whoa. You are not going out there," I said feeling every bit of that male protectiveness flowing through me. I slammed my palm into the door as she tried to open it.

"I need to go see if he's out there. If he followed her here. Get out of the way," she said trying to push me with her hip.

"Rosalie thinks someone is following her, the Volturi are trying to kill people, and what? You're going to walk up to the guy and ask him if he was sent here by Aro?"

"I'm going to see if there's anyone there. That's all."

"With your gun. You obviously feel you need your gun, that's a little worrisome to me."

"Would you like me to check without my gun?" she asked cocking her head at me. Obviously that was a worse idea.

I made a face and pushed back again on the door as she tried to yank it open. "I would like you to stay in here and I'll go check."

"You don't have a gun or a badge," she reminded me. "Edward, get out of my way. I need to go canvas the area. Nothing is going to happen to me. This is what I do."

"Edward, let her go. She's the cop. If she wasn't a cop, we'd call a cop. Let her go," Rosalie said from the other room. Bella and I had barely made up and now she was going outside to look for some guy dressed in black who was following Rosalie. This would be no big deal if Rosalie wasn't someone who is possibly being hunted by the biggest crime family in the Pacific Northwest. Before I let go of the door, I kissed her. That's what I was going to do before Rose buzzed to get in. It wasn't a sweet little see ya later kiss. It was hard and chock full of all the fear and anxiety I was feeling.

"Be safe," I whispered against her lips and then pulled back letting her open the door.

"I will," she said looking a little breathless.

I locked the door and leaned against it, running my fingers through my hair. This was exactly how it felt the last time. She was running away from me with her gun to go check on the bad guys. I was left to with nothing to do but wait. My insides were all twisted at the thought of what was potentially happening. My head ached, just like my heart. Last time, this ended with her taking a bullet in the chest. Last time, she was lying on the penthouse floor bleeding all over.

"She isn't going to get shot," Rosalie said reading my thoughts.

"Oh, ok Miss Hurry-up-let-me-in-someone's-after-me! You're super reassuring," I said mockingly, walking into the living room to sit with her. Even though I wanted to be the one protecting everyone, I could do nothing but sit and wait. Wait for Bella to protect us or get herself killed. Ugh, sometimes I am such a drama king. My pessimism even annoys me.

"I panicked. I was panicking. I'm better now that we're locked in here and Lily is in my arms," Rosalie tried to calm me while she hugged Lily.

I shut the computer, realizing I had left it open with pictures of Bella sitting there for the world to see. She'd love that. "Well, I'm going to panic until Bella comes back and tells me you're just freaking paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid. The guy was real and he was following us. I walked around the block and he followed. I walked down to that busy street up there and he followed us. I went into a little bakery, came out and he was standing there across the street. He was following us," she repeated.

"Great. So if someone's following you then what do we do? Now they know you're staying here. Do you guys go back to Seattle?" _Please say yes, please say yes. _

"I don't know," she shrugged.

We sat in silence for the next fifteen minutes or so. I tapped my fingers on my thigh. I leaned back, I leaned forward. I rubbed the back of my neck, I ran my fingers through hair. My leg bounced, I chewed on my fingernails. Rosalie tried to distract herself with Lily but it seemed I was getting annoying.

"Seriously, how did you make it through school? Do you know how to sit still?"

I removed my fingers from my mouth, "Ah, my wife is out looking for a guy who you thought was going to kill you. I'm a little nervous."

"I never said he was going to kill me."

"Well, what did you think he was going to do? Poke you with a stick?"

"Poke me with a stick? What does that even mean?"

"It means did you think he was going to poke you, with a stick?" I asked frustrated. She looked at me like I was crazy. I rolled my eyes at her, "I was being sarcastic, obviously you thought he was going to do something worse than poke you. Come on, you thought he was going to harm you."

"I didn't say that. He was following us. That's all. He didn't get close to us, he just was watching us," Rosalie kissed Lily's cheek but her faced betrayed the confidence she was trying to put in her words.

The doorknob rattled and we both froze. I walked cautiously to the door imagining what I would need to do if there was some dude with a gun on the other side. I had no weapons. I snatched an umbrella that was resting against the wall next to the door. Maybe I could jab it in the guys face or something.

"Can you guys open the door please?" Bella called from the other side.

I exhaled, not even realizing that I was holding my breath. I unlocked the door for her. She came in quickly and re-locked it.

"How'd you get in the building if you don't have your keys?" I asked following her to the living room, still holding the umbrella.

"We have a problem," she explained. "Someone messed with the lock down there. Anyone that pushes on the door can get in. I need to call the building manager and get that fixed immediately." She reached for her phone and started dialing.

"Did you see the guy?" Rosalie asked, wanting confirmation that she wasn't paranoid.

Bella shook her head. She talked to the building manager about the door and expressed her need to have it fixed today.

Anxiety was building, in me, in Rose, even in Bella. You could see it. As much as I wanted to protect Rosalie and Lily, especially Lily, I wanted to protect Bella more. If someone was after Rose then Rose needed to move along. She could get her dad's jet and head to L.A. Everyone could cancel their big plans to come here for Thanksgiving and Bella and I could maybe run away to Mexico or something. Somewhere far away from everyone.

Bella hung up and turned to the two of us, who were impatiently waiting to hear what she saw or didn't see out there.

"So, no one suspicious out there? But you think he messed with the door?" Rosalie jumped right in.

Bella shook her head, "Well, according to the building manager someone complained about the door a couple days ago, you weren't even here a couple days ago, so maybe I was jumping to conclusions."

"Or maybe he didn't know she wasn't here," I threw in there. Anything was possible. It was still a good idea for Rosalie to start packing.

"Why are you holding an umbrella?" Bella asked looking at the poor excuse for a weapon I was holding.

"Um, I was going to... oh never mind," I said resting it against one of the stools by the breakfast bar.

Bella shook her head and continued where we left off, "Rose wasn't hiding in Seattle. They had to know she was there. I don't know. I didn't see any guy in a black overcoat. I searched the back alley, went up the block. Checked in all the cars along the street. Nothing. If he was following you, he high-tailed it out of here once you came inside." Bella ran her hand down her ponytail. "You're a beautiful woman, Rose. Maybe you just caught his eye. You know you attract attention from the opposite sex."

"While walking my baby?" Rosalie challenged.

Bella pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe that's why he kept a distance. You're unavailable but still something to look at."

I was liking this theory for safety sake, not loving the idea that maybe everyone was still going to stay.

"Maybe she should take Lily to L.A." I chimed in.

Both women frowned and looked at me. What the hell, why not?

"I'm going to call Emmett," Bella said opening her phone again. She wasn't jumping on the send Rose to L.A. idea bandwagon like I'd hoped.

"If they can find me here, they can find me there. At least Bella has a gun," Rosalie hissed at me as she went to sit back down.

"I'm not saying you aren't welcome to stay here, I'm just saying maybe we should switch it up. Throw them off," I said trying to rationalize my completely selfish desire for them to go.

Bella walked back into the bedroom to talk to Emmett. I didn't understand why we couldn't listen in. Neither did Rosalie.

"You know you don't have to hide in there! He's going to tell me everything!" she shouted so Bella could hear. "Unlike some other Cullens we know," she said much softer for my benefit. She set Lily in the bouncy seat on the floor next to her. "Uncle Edward doesn't know when to be quiet or when to talk, does he?" she asked Lily who was kicking and cooing in response to her mother's upbeat tone.

I smiled sarcastically and then frowned. I decided I'd taken enough of her shit today.

"Well, Lily. Not everyone can be perfect like your mom. She knows everything!"

"He's just jealous and he's obviously losing his sense of humor which really was his greatest asset. It's a shame."

She was going to question my sense of humor? Well, I would have to do something about that.

"Oh, my sense of humor is perfectly intact. What to you get when you send a prostitute to law school?" I asked.

Rosalie looked at me warily. "I don't know, what do you get Edward?"

"A fucking know-it-all."

She smiled, "Good one."

"I try. When Emmett went to law school I tried to learn one lawyer joke per week so I could email him."

"Good to see that your parents' hard earned money wasn't going to waste while you were in college."

"Provoke me and I could entertain myself all night," I warned with an evil grin.

"Maybe I could poke you with a stick," she laughed.

"How do you save a drowning lawyer?" I asked feeling adequately provoked.

"How?" she asked intrigued.

"Take your foot off their head."

Her jaw dropped and she gasped in mock horror. "Nice, Edward. Real nice. This is the kind of stuff you sent to your brother every week while he was working his ass off at law school?"

"Oh, please. He loved it. He would get upset if I forgot to send one," I said lounging in the chair.

"That sounds like him, actually," she said fondly. Guilt swept over me. Here she was, dealing with not only being possibly hunted by the Volturi but away from Emmett once again. Her life was in shambles and she didn't do anything wrong. Unlike me, who was sulking all day because of the problems I had created all on my own.

"Bella is probably right, you know."

"About what?" she asked, pulled from what was probably thoughts of Emmett.

"The guy was probably following you because you are the hottest mom he has ever seen. Everything is going to be fine."

"Are you calling me a MILF?" she teasingly replied.

I could feel myself blushing like my wife, "Well you're not a MILF to _me_, because that would be wrong on so many levels, but I imagine you exceed expectations for most men."

Rosalie smiled at the compliment.

Bella returned and handed the phone to Rosalie, who promptly took it and strode off to her bedroom. Bella sat down in the spot Rose had vacated. She wiggled her fingers in front of Lily and got an immediate reaction from the happy little baby.

"What does Emmett think? Does he think they should go?" I asked again trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Actually," she cleared her throat loudly, "he coming here. Sooner than Thanksgiving." She looked back down at Lily, missing my jaw drop to the fucking ground.

"He's coming here? To do what? Attract more people who want to kill Cullens?" I said jumping up and sitting next to her.

"Don't say that. We have no idea if anyone is doing anything. Emmett thinks maybe Rose is just cracking under the pressure a little bit. He's worried about her trying to hold everything together. So, since he doesn't have work to worry about, he wants to take care of her. That's why he's coming."

My brother, fucking Prince Charming. Thanksgiving was less than two weeks away. Maybe once Emmett got here he would realize they should go before then. Perhaps we could get out of Thanksgiving after all.

I bent my head and let my forehead rest on her shoulder. My hand carefully touched her back, expecting her to pull away. She didn't and I could feel the forgiveness in that gesture. My fingers almost reflexively brushed across the spot where her scar was. I sat up and took one of her hands in mine. I noticed her gun still on her belt. Bella never walked around with her gun on. It was always the first thing she took off when she got home and the last thing she put on when she left for work. The fact that she was still wearing it meant something. I couldn't deal with that until I was sure the other stuff was ok now.

"Are we, good?" I asked, playing with the wedding ring on her finger.

She twisted up her mouth and seemed to think about it for a minute. She watched me play with her ring.

"We're, ok," she qualified. Ok was better than not good.

I sighed, "You believe me though?"

"I believe you. I just don't get how you don't get it," she said turning her hand in mine so she could touch my wedding ring.

"I don't get what?"

Bella slipped one leg under her and turned her body towards me. She continued to let me hold her hand and actually put both of hers in mine.

"Edward, you are like the male version of Rosalie."

She was right, I didn't get it.

"I'm a super smart lawyer who has mad parenting skills?" I guessed, knowing that was not what she meant.

She tilted her head and tsked, "You and Rosalie are the epitome of beauty. You would be hard pressed to find a man who didn't find her attractive. Just like there are few women who don't want to fall at your feet."

I kept my mouth shut so the laughter came out as a snort.

"Don't laugh at me," she pulled her hands from mine and immediately my hands twitched in their absence.

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at the thought of women throwing themselves at my feet. That's pretty fucking funny."

"See, I can't believe you don't get it," she shook her head, amused and bewildered.

"You are a little prejudice, you know," I challenged, smiling at her cuteness. Bella was cute when she was a little frustrated with me.

"God, at least Rosalie understands the affect she has on men. She knows that it doesn't take much to have a guy fall head over heels. So, she's very careful about how she...interacts."

"And I was careless?" It was more a statement than a question. I knew what she was getting at. She was trying to say I need to be more aware of other's attraction to me.

"You were more than careless," she dropped her eyes to her hands in her lap.

I snatched them back in mine. "I'm sorry."

"You know you're good looking. You know you're charming. You brag about it. Why is it so hard for you to believe that you could have anyone you wanted?"

"Because I only want you," I lifted her hands to my mouth and as she watched, I kissed them.

Her cheeks pinked but she diverted her brown eyes again.

"Charming, charming. You do seem to know what you're doing. How could you not see it with Victoria?"

"I wasn't trying to charm her."

"That's where you could learn a thing or two from Rose. You don't get that you don't have to try. You are charming by nature. You could say nothing, do nothing and still women would line up to be with you," she stared down at our hands.

I understood the effect I had on women when I turned it on. I got that all I had to do was flash a smile or give a little compliment and I could get most women to fold. Bella was exaggerating though. It's not like it just happens, I have to work it a little.

"For example, dinner yesterday. The hostess. Did you realize what you were doing to her?" Bella cut into my thoughts.

"The hostess?" I tried to remember the hostess. Did I talk to the hostess? We walked in, Bella went to the bathroom, oh yeah. I talked to the hostess while I waited. We talked about the flowers. Nothing exciting. I didn't do anything to her, come to think of it, I could have worked her to get a better table but I didn't.

"What about the waitress? The woman at the table over by the window? The waitress who didn't even have a table in our area who kept walking by for absolutely no reason whatsoever?" Bella continued, her head lowering each time to catch my eye.

"What woman by the window?" I paid not attention to any of the table around us. "Wasn't our waitress like some older lady? Are you making this shit up?" I said squinting at her. Was I totally oblivious?

"Our waitress was a little older but I'm pretty sure there is no age limit on who can find you irresistible. She could barely spit out what the specials were because she was staring at you while you were biting your lip, looking over the menu. Then you licked your lip and I thought she might faint. Seriously, you didn't notice?"

I looked at Bella like she had another head coming out of her neck. What the hell was she talking about? I thought the waitress just kind of sucked. I really wasn't paying any attention to her.

"The woman by the window who was fanning herself with her menu and was staring so intensely at one point, her friend threw a roll at her head?"

_What the fuck? _Were we at the same dinner? What was I doing when all this was going on? Oh yeah, staring at my wife, thinking about all the naughty things I wanted to do to her.

"You're making that up. You think you see things but they might be totally in your head."

"The waitress, the one who wasn't even in our section, walked past our table at least a half a dozen times once I started counting. One time, I think she actually tried to smell you, something our waitress was totally doing when she would refill your water or take away a plate from you."

I let go of Bella's hands and rubbed my face. This was insane. I don't remember any of this happening. I never noticed some waitress walking by. I certainly don't remember being smelled. I think I would remember someone smelling me. Bella was delusional.

"You don't even notice, do you?" she asked in amazement.

"At dinner, you were the only thing I was paying attention to. You are the only thing I pay attention to when we're together. I think you're seeing things that aren't real, honey."

"Edward," she shook her head and was smiling. I liked the smiling part.

Rosalie walked out of the bedroom and interrupted our unusual conversation. Emmett had told Rosalie his plan to come to Chicago Monday or Tuesday. He needed to talk to some people first. He wasn't charged with anything so they had no right to tell him he couldn't leave, but he needed to tell someone he was going in case they wanted to hold him. He also needed to be very selective about who he gave that information to, considering the possibility that someone was watching Rosalie in Chicago. Rosalie looked a little more relaxed after her conversation with Emmett. He must have had the same conversation with her that Bella just had with me, the "you make people do crazy things because you're so incredibly hot" talk. That was so ridiculous.

We decided to order pizza for dinner and I forced Bella to let me be the one who went and picked it up. On my way down the steps, I spotted our downstairs neighbor unlocking her door. She was a nice lady, maybe in her late 40's. I didn't know her first name but I think her last name was Cope. Mrs. Cope. We didn't talk to our neighbors much, a friendly hello now and again in passing. As I approached, she looked up and saw me. Immediately, she dropped her keys. I made it to the bottom as she was bending over to pick them up, which as she did caused the contents of her purse to fall out. Feeling bad for her, I bent over and helped her pick up some of the things that had tumbled out.

"Let me help you," I offered.

She was redder than fire truck when I handed her her things, even though there was nothing even remotely embarrassing. No tampons or something humiliating like that.

"Thanks," she giggled. _She giggled? Did she just giggle?_ She had this strange smile on her face as well and now she was repeatedly tucking her hair behind her ear even though it was already perfectly tucked.

"No problem. Have a good night," I said as I stepped away.

Mrs. Cope just stared at me with this weird smile on her face.

"Are you ok?" I asked, a little concerned. She looked so discombobulated.

She giggled again and looked down at her feet, "I'm fine. Sorry. Thank you. Bye."

She hurriedly pushed the door to her place open and nearly fell in. I turned around and headed out the of the building. _Was that what Bella was talking about? Did I do that?_ No, I reasoned with my self. She was just embarrassed.

My wife's comments had me hyperaware. The whole walk to the pizza place, I was checking women's reactions to me. Reading into everything. I walked past a woman who made eye contact as we approached and smiled as we passed. I turned to look at her after she was past only to find she had turned to look at me. I snapped my head forward and kept my head down. Suddenly, I felt like I needed to avoid all eye contact with the opposite sex.

At the pizza place, I had to make eye contact with the girl behind the counter who was smiling. _Smiling is normal. Smiling is good customer service._

"I'm here to pick up an order for Cullen," I explained as I stepped up to the counter.

"Ok," she said as she walked through some doors to get our pizza. Before she came out another girl came out, looked at me, smiled, and went through the doors again. _Weird._ The first girl reappeared, with the second girl, carrying my order. She ripped off the tag and started pushing buttons on the cash register. "That'll be $26.61," she said, still smiling.

I pulled out my credit card, "I thought the girl on the phone said it was over $30. Did you get the salad?"

She winked and leaned over the counter, her v-neck shirt exposing lots and lots of cleavage I should not be looking at.

"I gave you a 20% discount. There are coupons we send in the mail. We'll just pretend you had one. Don't tell on me," she winked again. "Why don't you jot your address down on this piece of paper so we can send coupons in the future. You could write your phone number down, too."

_Holy shit. _ Bella was fucking right. I was not even trying here. I was doing nothing, saying nothing. How could I not have noticed this before?

I declined the coupon/stalking offer and hurried home suddenly feeling like every women that I saw was trying to throw herself at my feet. I imagined women leering at me out car windows, every woman I passed on the sidewalk seemed to be checking out my ass, they were everywhere. Women wanted me and I couldn't stop them. Back at the condo I slammed the door shut and pressed my back against it. I was breathing hard from half running half walking all the way home, escaping the crazy women out there.

"You ok?" Rosalie asked as both she and Bella came out of the kitchen.

"They really are after me," I said between breaths.

"Who was out there? The same guy Rose saw?" Bella said concerned. Her hand reflexively reaching for her gun.

I shook my head and handed her the food. "No, the women of this fucking city. You were right, babe. I don't even have to try and they can't control themselves!"

Bella and Rosalie looked at me and then each other. The next thing I knew, the two of them were riotously laughing.

"Seriously, one minute you're pissed that I don't notice and the next you're laughing at me because I finally see it! Women!" I shouted in disgust, throwing off my jacket and grabbing the pizza back from Bella. I'll never get it and I'll never win.

**A/N #2: Poor Edward. Got some better lawyer jokes? Edward might need some more when Emmett comes to town!**


	17. Chapter 17 Self Defense

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.  
Thanks for all the joke suggestions. Look for a few in future chapters. Badass Bella makes her return here. This was a technically challenging chapter. Lots of things I had to try to imagine and happening and then somehow figure out how to put it in words. Hopefully it turns out ok. I have no Beta so bear with me!! Thanks for all the follows and reviews. Keep telling me what you think. I know everyone will be a little mad at Bella after this. Everyone always gets mad at my Bella. Trust me, what happens is necessary for the story. I promise. **

BPOV

I didn't sleep well, listening for any sounds that seemed suspicious. I think I was waiting for someone to try to open the front door or throw something through a window. I tried listening for anything; a car alarm, a horn honk, the banging of garbage cans, something that would alert me to someone trying to get in our place, trying to get at us. Edward was not happy to see me place my gun on the nightstand when he climbed into bed. I felt weird about it as well. I never have my gun out at home. I always lock it up as soon as I walk in the door. Edward didn't say anything but when I was lying on my side, facing him, he constantly ran his fingers over the scar on my back and kissed the one on my chest. It was his way of letting me know how much this was bothering him. I decided at about 2:30 in the morning that we would do some self defense training in the morning. Not that Edward or Rosalie would be able to defend themselves if these guys were going to use weapons, but at least it would empower them a little and if by chance someone just tried to grab them, they might be able to get away or call enough attention to themselves that someone would see.

Edward thought the idea was stupid. Again he didn't say anything, he just sat on the couch with his arms crossed in front of him and a pout on his face. Rosalie thought it was a great idea and was more than excited to do something instead of just sitting around feeling helpless.

"Ok, so let me explain a couple things first," I said standing in the middle of our now much larger looking living room, having pushed all the furniture against the walls. "The most important thing to remember is that your best weapon in any attack is your head."

"We're going to practice head-butting?" Edward asked grimly from the couch.

"When I say your head, I mean using it by staying calm. If you stay calm you're in a stronger defensive position. When it comes to striking your attacker, your legs and feet are strong weapons. Usually when someone grabs you, they try to control your hands and your arms. That's why it's important to remember what to do with your feet."

Rosalie listened intently while Edward sat, acting uninterested.

"It's possible to break bones in your attacker's foot regardless of whether he's in front or behind you. The important part to remember is to use your heel to make the strike, not the ball of your foot or instep. You need to bring your knee up as far as possible and then slam it downward with your ankle flexed upward so your heel hits first. If he's behind you, you should try to hit his knee because it's a very unstable, vulnerable joint. After you hit the knee or the shin, try to slam into the bones of the instep or toes."

"Oh, I want to break some bones," Rosalie said evilly, rubbing her hand together.

"Edward, come here and let's try a couple things," I said holding my hand out to help him off the couch.

"You want to let her break my bones?" he asked swatting my hand away and getting up on his own.

I rolled my eyes and swatted his butt. "We're not going to do anything to break bones. We're just demonstrating."

"That's going to do us a lot of good," he scoffed.

"I'll break your foot if you want me to," Rosalie offered, tired of his attitude.

Edward cocked his head at her, "Really, blondie?"

"Really."

"Bring it, cupcake."

"Oh, I'll bring it."

They kept advancing on one another, both with their arms crossed in front of them.

"Oh my gosh you two. Stop it," I said sliding myself in between them. "If you guys can't take this seriously then let's forget about it."

"Good idea," Edward huffed.

"_I'm_ trying to take it seriously! His negative attitude is not helping," Rosalie complained.

Tension was building in me and my ability to teach was going to get compromised if I couldn't relax. I took a deep breath and turned on Edward.

"Could you please cooperate? If you think you can handle yourself in a fight, great. Rosalie on the other hand would like to learn a thing or two so she can feel more confident if someone should approach her. Can you please help?" I asked in my nicest voice.

He smashed his lips in a tight line. His hand jumped to his hair and I knew I had made him feel a little guilty.

"Fine, but I just don't see how this is really going to help. These guys have used weapons - bombs, cars, guns. I don't think our feet or legs are going to fight against that."

I tried to tell myself that he was afraid and that's why he couldn't filter his thoughts for Rosalie's sake. I think we all know that if the Volturi want to hurt Rose or us or whoever that they will probably use a very deadly method. The point of this, though, was to help Rosalie feel like she had more control over the situation than she does now, allowing her to have a tiny bit of peace. I wanted to strangle him for not realizing that.

"We don't know what they're going to do. They could try to take Rosalie, knowing that it would hurt Emmett. They might need to grab her in order to kill her somewhere less public. Who knows."

"Jesus, Bells," Rosalie breathed behind me. I spun around and could see how my words had drained all the color from her face.

"Rose. I don't think any of that is really going to happen. Relax." I let out a frustrated growl. "We don't know what's going to happen. Nothing might happen. Aro could be found guilty in the next week or so and this could all be over. The guy you saw yesterday could be some dumbass who was just gawking at a beautiful woman. Rosalie, you won't be running around by yourself unprotected any time soon. Ok? No one is going to be able to kidnap you or grab you up because I will shoot them if they try. No one is going to take you. Do you hear me?" I said putting both my hands on her shoulders.

She nodded and she took a couple deep breaths.

"Tell me what you want me to do. Whatever you want, I'll do it," Edward said behind me. I let go of Rosalie and stepped to the side so I could see both of them. Edward finally seemed to get why we were doing this.

"There's a couple things I want to try. One, we're going to pretend Edward gets behind you and grabs you before you can react. That's when you're going to use the foot stomping. Then we'll practice a couple moves you can use if you see him coming. I'm going to show you how someone our size can use a few basic techniques to take down someone Edward's size. It isn't easy, you have to know what you're doing but it can be very effective. In Aikido, you basically don't try to go head to head with someone. You aren't trying to match the attacker's brute strength with your own. You use their momentum against them using very little physical energy yourself. What I show you should end with them on the ground. If they're on the ground you should be able to get away."

Rosalie nodded her head, paying very close attention. We went through a couple scenarios. Edward was a good sport. The grab from behind was pretty easy for Rosalie to get down. She didn't really smash his foot or grab at his balls (which was another option I offered) but she got the idea of things she could do if she was restrained that way. Then we moved on to the more complicated moves. I demonstrated how to grab his arm when he tried to grab me from the front and side. When Edward ended up face down on the floor for the fifth or sixth time, he grunted and asked for a short break. I walked back to the kitchen with him to get some water while Rosalie check on a napping Lily.

"Are you ok?" I asked once we were away from Rose.

"I'm fine," he said opening the refrigerator and grabbing a couple bottles of water.

"I'm not hurting you am I?" I asked worried that I was hitting the nerves I was suppose to hit in his arm. That could really hurt.

"No, are you trying to? Getting out some left over anger from yesterday?" he asked before taking a long swig of water.

I hadn't really thought about it but maybe I was enjoying taking him down more than I would have if we hadn't had the big fight yesterday.

"I'm not trying. I don't want to hurt you. Will you tell me if I am?" I ask, leaning against the counter next to him. He was putting space between us and I wasn't sure if he was afraid of me or mad or I was just reading too much into nothing.

"I'll let you know. You seem to like watching me get knocked down," he said, staring at his feet instead of looking me in the eye.

I moved in front of him and placed my hands on the counter on either side of him, each foot on the outside of his. I bent down so my face was in direct line of his view.

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I told you we're ok. We are ok, right?"

His green eyes looked lost in deep thought. He closed them for a second and then kissed me on the forehead. His arms wrapped around me and pulled my body closer to his. I snaked my arms around his neck and pecked him on the neck.

"We're ok. I just hope you know that _I'm_ not trying to hurt _you_. I don't know if this is really going to help Rosalie if someone really tries to do something to her."

I pulled back and looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying, when we practice out there, I'm not trying really hard to fight you because I can't hurt you. But the bad guys aren't going to be that nice."

I laughed and dropped my arms. "So you're saying that the only reason I've dropped you out there is because you're letting me?" It was so funny, couldn't help but laugh. If I wasn't laughing, I might be a little pissed.

"Well, honey, I'm not going to use my full strength against you. So, yeah, it's probably been a little easy for you."

Ok, maybe I was feeling a little pissed. I took a step back. "Edward, I have trained in this form of martial arts. I have practiced against men who have not been holding back and have tried very hard not to let me take them down. This stuff can and will work if she does it correctly. You don't need to hold back to protect me. Since I know what I'm doing, you are the one that's at a higher risk of being hurt."

"And what if you come up against someone bigger, stronger, and trained in something just like you. Then who wins? You know, sometimes you think you're a tiger when really you're only a feisty little kitten."

_A fucking kitten?_ Was he kidding me right now? What happened to Badass Bella? I thought he was so happy to be married to someone like Angelina in Wanted or Tomb Raider? I couldn't even respond. I just stared at him. Now my need to hurt him was completely unleashed.

"Lily's only going to be sleeping a little bit longer can we finish up?" Rosalie said, coming into the kitchen and distracting me from my potential murderous rage.

"Sure. But I don't know if Edward can help us any more," I said turning to her.

"Why?" they both said at the same time.

"Obviously, Rosalie can't learn to defend herself against someone who is just going to let her drop him to the ground. That's not going to help her. So, I think maybe we need to get someone in here who doesn't feel like they need to coddle us," I said indignantly.

Rosalie looked at me confused as I walked past her and back into the living room. I grabbed my phone off the breakfast bar as they both followed me.

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked rounding the corner.

"I'll call someone from the station, ask them to come over and help us practice. They won't hold back."

I thought about it for a minute. Garrett, maybe. Jared, definitely not. He would be so distracted by Rosalie's boobs, he'd fall down just to look up at them. James. He'd come, that's for sure, but that would be a bad idea.

"Bella, none of those guys are going to try any harder than me. Please. No guy wants to hurt a girl. At least no self-respecting, decent guy," Edward argued, rolling his eyes.

James it is. I dialed and he picked up quickly.

"Izzy B, this is becoming a strange and yet extremely pleasant habit. What can I do for you today?"

"I need some help. I'm trying to teach someone some self defense and I need someone to be the bad guy and I couldn't think of anyone better for that job than you," I said smiling smugly at Edward, who's jaw was so tense the bone looked like it was going to pop out.

"Always flooding me with the compliments. Consider me your bad guy," James answered without even thinking about it.

I gave him directions to our place and he said he could be here in less than ten minutes. _Did this guy sit around his apartment waiting for me to call or what? _

Edward was livid. His hands were on his hips and he was shaking his head back and forth.

"What the hell happened during our little break, exactly? Can't you two play nice for two minutes by yourself?" Rosalie asked looking from him to me.

"Edward thinks that I'm full of shit. That this is all a joke."

"That is not what I said," he interrupted.

"He's been _letting_ me win and so he doesn't think that I can really teach you to defend yourself. So I'm going to bring someone in here that won't hold back, like Edward _supposedly_ was."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure your asshole partner, who wants nothing more than to rub his dick on you, is going to try really hard!" Edward snapped.

"Whoa!" Rosalie threw her hands up. "Let's not get ugly."

"Well, _unlike you_, I've established some clear boundaries in my working relationship and he's very clear on the fact that I don't want his dick any where near me. Thank you very much!" I shouted back.

"Oh, I see. We're going to go back to that. I thought we were ok. But I guess we're not as ok as I thought. I guess we still have some things we're holding onto there."

"Well, I did say ok and not perfect, didn't I?" I seethed.

"Ok, time out! Time out, you two. This is not what we need to be doing right now. Can we all just take a breath and calm down a second?" Rosalie pleaded.

My chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. I did need to calm down. This wasn't suppose to turn into a fight but he pushed my buttons just right.

"Call him back and tell him to forget it," Edward demanded.

"No. I want you to see that this is for real. Maybe you _are_ taking it easy,"

"I am taking it fucking easy! Do you really think I can be physically aggressive with you? I can't. Sorry! Sorry I can't flip a switch and go all unfeeling, like-" he stopped himself and dropped his eyes.

"What, like me? Is that what you were going to say?" I challenged.

"Time out!" Rosalie called again.

"That's not what I was going to say," Edward answered.

The door buzzer rang.

_Shit, that could not have been ten minutes. That couldn't have even been more than two minutes. _

_I buzzed James in and the air was so thick with the emotion left over from our fight that it was almost like a fog that I could barely see through._

"Izzy B. Looking good even all sweaty," James smirked.

"You got to be fucking kidding me," Edward huffed angrily from behind us.

"CK. Good to see you again. And who is this lovely lady?" he asked moving towards Rosalie with his hand extended.

"Rosalie Cullen. Bella's sister-in-law. I'm married. To Edward's brother. His very large and very jealous brother." She answered shaking his hand firmly. That's Rosalie, setting the boundaries from the minute they meet.

I explained to James what we were doing, avoiding the whole question of why we were doing it. James was wearing jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt and black boots. I guess it didn't matter if he was in comfortable clothing or not. Edward stood, arms folded in front of him, with a furious look on his face.

"Edward was the attacker but it's hard for him to be totally aggressive with me. Not that I want this to get really intense, just I want you to really try to grab me. Not hurt me, just restrain me."

"That's what I was doing," Edward complained, dropping his arms with a loud thwap against his body. He was totally exasperated with me.

"Well, I have some martial arts training. I'm familiar with sparring," James said turning to Edward. "Perhaps it will work better with me," he added turning back to me with a shit eating grin on his face.

This didn't sit well with Edward. I could see that he wanted to respond but bit his tongue. I was starting to feel bad about setting this all in motion. What was done was done, though. I was going to prove to Edward that I could take anyone. I ran through things one more time with Rosalie, explaining the techniques.

"You weren't kidding about being trained in Aikido?" James squinted his eyes and pushed up his sleeves.

"I thought you figured out I wasn't much of a kidder," I answered back.

"No, you're always serious, Izzy. Is that how she is with you guys?" he asked looking to Rosalie and then to Edward.

"_Bella _never kids," Edward said, taking a seat on the couch, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Let's do this, then," James said with a clap of his hands.

We walked through it slowly the first time so I could show Rosalie one more time the way she would need to position her hands. When I was sure she understood we went for it for real.

"Just come at me like you're trying to take me, like you're trying to restrain me and move me from our current location," I explained.

"Got it, Izzy. I'm ready when you are," James looked eager to begin. Edward leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, his eyes focused clearly on James.

James approached me and once he got in striking range he reached for my upper arm, in an attempt to pull me towards him. Before he could shift his momentum, I grabbed his wrist and his elbow and used his own body motion to bring him down in front of me, as I pivoted towards him. He used his other arm to stop himself from doing a face plant.

"Nice, Bells," Rosalie said with a very satisfied smile on her face.

I smiled back at her but since I was distracted, James rolled on his shoulder and used the arm he had been holding himself with to sweep my legs and I went down, hard on my ass.

"Hey!" Edward sprang from the couch.

James held his hands out in surrender. "She didn't call it. I thought we were still going."

"My bad," I confessed. My ego bruised more than my ass.

"Is it over once you get me down or do we continue until you get away?" James asked for clarification standing and offering me his hand.

"I'll call it from now on. My fault for not making that clear," I said, getting back up and glancing at Edward, hoping he would sit back down which he did.

"I guess we should talk about what you should do once you get him down. Let's not forget the first lesson of using your feet. Once he's down feel free to use your foot to stomp on him. You could easily break his hand, get him in the neck making it hard for him to breathe, or depending on where he falls you could go right for the groin."

"Holy shit, no wonder why you quit, CK. Izzy is brutal," James said, scratching his head.

"I didn't fucking quit, asshole," Edward shot back. I took a quick step in between James and where Edward sat.

"He didn't quit. I fired him. Let's finish up so Rosalie can try."

"Why the fuck do you keep calling me CK? And her fucking name is Bella. No one calls her Izzy and she fucking hates it. If you can't show her some respect in my house, you can leave," Edward stood back up and talked right over my head like I wasn't there.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to piss you off," James said raising his hands again in surrender again. "I call her Izzy to tease her a little. I mean no disrespect. I'm a nickname kind of guy. CK is just the way you were described to me by the guys at the station. Again, no disrespect, Edward."

"Jared said you looked like a Calvin Klein model. That's what CK means. Can we forget about the nicknames?" I pleaded, putting my hands on my head and trying to get Edward to make eye contact with me instead of James. What was I thinking asking James to help? This was the stupidest idea I had in a very long time. Edward was still infuriated but he sat back down.

We got back to the demonstration. Rosalie was looking at me like she wanted to tell me all the things I was already thinking, like I was the biggest idiot ever. James and I took our places and began. He grabbed at me, but this time he went for my throat, catching me slightly off guard. My hands reflexively flew to the hand on my neck. He took his other hand and grabbed on one of my wrists and tried to spin me so he would end up behind me. I gathered my wits and stepped forward instead of back, pulling him slightly in a different direction than he expected. I took my hand off his and pushed him backwards, using his imbalance against him. He stepped back and loosened his hold on me. I stepped back now and he released me. When he reached for me again and I grabbed his wrist with one hand and his elbow with the other. I spun and as he stepped forward, I pulled him down and wrapped his arm behind his back. This time I made sure I was standing where he could not grab me with his free hand.

"Done," I called it.

Rosalie was staring at me wide-eyed. "Damn, Bella! I am never going to be able to do that."

"Well, I don't expect you to be able to do that. But again, if you can get someone in the hold I showed you, you can get him down. If someone grabs you around the neck, don't try to do what I did, go with stomping with your foot," I replied, releasing James and offering my hand to help him up. He took it and jumped up with a look of wonder on his face.

"She could also try to break the guy's finger. Together, fingers can hold on tightly but individually, fingers are not very strong. If you can grab hold of one, especially one of the weaker ones, the pinkie or the ring finger, you can break it. It hurts like hell and will make the guy loosen his grip. But you have to go for it, you can't half ass it. If you are going to break it you can't have a weak stomach. You have to do it fast and hard, totally committed to doing it," James interjected thoughtfully. Rosalie nodded, slightly taken aback by his instruction.

"Yeah, you could do that, too," I acknowledged, surprised as well. "Are you ready to try?" I asked her. Rose nodded.

James really stepped up and talked to Rosalie about the moves and how she should shift her weight. He was actually extremely helpful. They practiced a couple techniques and after doing a couple in half speed, they tried one full on. Rose did a good job of getting her hands in position but then stepped the wrong way and James was able to wrap his arms around her and restrain her. He pulled her feet off the ground so she couldn't stomp on his foot.

"Done," I called it. We discussed what she should have done differently. James, again, helped her see where she went wrong by walking through it in half speed. They tried again and this time, Rose got him to the ground. I wasn't sure if he let that happen or not but as soon as she got him down I called it.

They went at it three more times. On the third try, Rosalie successfully brought him down again.

There was crying from the bedroom. Lily was awake. Rosalie was smiling from ear to ear as she helped James up.

"Thank you. I really appreciate you doing this, coming here, helping us out," Rose said so sincerely. James nodded but seemed to be caught speechless, which was not something that happened very often.

Rosalie excused herself to go tend to Lily. James, finding his voice again, turned to me, "You guys got a baby here?"

"Rose's daughter," I nodded.

"That explains the dark circles, huh, Iz?" he smirked and I nodded again, pressing my lips together. _Damn he was so fucking perceptive it was annoying._ That's what makes him good at what he does, I guess.

"Bella. Her name is Bella," Edward said from the couch. He was looking at us like he just caught us making out or something.

"Bella. Right. Sorry," James gave me a quick nod.

"Thanks for your help. You thought of some things I didn't. It really helped her out."

"Pretty lady like that should know how to beat back the dogs, right?" James quipped.

"Yeah, something like that," I smiled.

"So we're done? You don't want to go a couple more rounds?" he playfully reached for my wrist and tugged me towards him.

The next thing I knew he was flying through the air and landed hard on his back, Edward standing over him, looking like he could kill.

"Jesus, Edward!" I shouted.

"We're done. You don't need to touch her!" Edward spat at James who looked equally pissed now. James scissor kicked his legs around Edward's immediately causing Edward to fall to the ground as well. Then James got to his knees and put Edward in a restraining hold, something we would do with someone resisting arrest.

"Boy, Ed. If I knew you wanted to play I would have been paying closer attention," James said leaning in close and speaking right into Edward's ear.

"James, let him go! Knock it off," I yanked on his arm as hard as I could. James let go of Edward's arm and got off him. He stepped back and I got in between the two of them.

"Time to go," I said to James, scared of what these two would try to do to one another if he stayed any longer. Edward hopped up off the ground and was breathing much too hard.

"Next time, maybe, huh, Edward?" James drew out his whole name for effect. Edward didn't respond he just headed straight for our bedroom.

I was shaking my head as I walked James to the door. "You just can't stop yourself, can you?"

"Hey, he struck first, Izzy. I was pretty damn good, considering he's probably given me lots of reasons to knock his ass out. I haven't forgotten the look on your face yesterday," he said, his blue eyes narrowed at me.

"Don't make me take back all the nice things I said earlier. Thank you for helping us out. I'll see you tomorrow. Sorry for, whatever," I didn't even know why I was apologizing but he was right Edward had struck first.

"Anytime. Until tomorrow," he smiled as he threw his leather coat on and headed out the door. I locked it behind him and prepared myself for the next fight. Edward and I were getting really good at fighting. Too good.


	18. Ch 18 Can't Face the Dark Without You

**A/N: Everybody thinks Bella's an idiot. I know. I know. She doesn't deny it. Her pride is dangerous. Always has been. James was very helpful though, what up with that? Let's see what Edward thinks about it all...**

EPOV

I let the hot water of the shower run down my back, trying to wash away the rage that was enveloping me in the other room. It wasn't really working. I could literally kill. I don't know if I have ever felt like this before. I'm not sure how I stayed on the couch when he grabbed at her neck when they were "demonstrating" for Rosalie. It caused this feral response in me. All I wanted to do was make him bleed. If she hadn't gotten out of that hold as fast as she did, I don't know what I would have done. Badass Bella is the real deal. I knew that deep down, even though I called her a kitten. She probably could have taken me down every single time whether I tried or not. I should have known she was going to make me eat my words. I just didn't expect her to use James to shove them down.

When we started, it surprised me how hard it was to play along. It was the exact opposite of what I felt later, in reaction to James. Every bone in my body resisted doing something that could hurt Bella. I wasn't like Jake, the abusive ex. Badass Bella or not, she seemed to forget that there was a time when someone a whole hell of a lot bigger than her beat the shit out of her, more than once. I haven't forgotten. I will never forget. Sometimes she thinks she so fucking tough and that nothing can touch her. I know all about that reckless kind of thinking. I know where it can get you. If there is some big dude out there following Rosalie, who actually works for the Volturi, she could be in serious danger. She doesn't get how that bothers me. How it eats away at me.

Then they're all done and James has to keep it going; pulling her towards him, touching her. I wasn't kidding when I told her he'd do anything to rub his dick on her. He was a bastard. A bastard that I wanted to rip the head off of, maybe tear him limb to limb. Then maybe I would burn the pieces just to make sure he couldn't resurrect. This line of thinking was not calming me down. I washed up and then turned off the water. I rubbed the towel over my face and hair before wrapping it around my waist. Bella was standing in the middle of the room when I opened the door.

"I'm sorry. You pushed my buttons and I totally called him to piss you off. I know you don't like him, hell, I don't like him, but you have to admit, he helped out Rosalie today and I think she actually feels more confident," she said, giving me no chance to respond to the apology before she moved on.

I considered my options here.

Option #1: We could fight. We could argue about James which would definitely lead to arguing about Victoria because I knew she would bring it up. She, of course, would believe the mess I made with Victoria would excuse what she did and we would fight more.  
Option #2: I could just forget about it, accept her apology, and move on. This would leave me feeling frustrated and raring to go the next time something came up, though.  
Option #3: I could tell her how I was feeling. I could tell her how out of my mind afraid I am. We could both be honest about things for once.

Before I could decide, my phone buzzed on the dresser.

"It's been ringing. I didn't answer it because it was coming from Victoria's gallery," Bella said obviously pained by having to even say Victoria's name.

I picked it up and listened to my voicemail. It was actually Charles. According to him, Victoria's grandmother had passed away today and she was going to be unavailable all week. She had asked him to call me and pass along the information. She would call me herself later in the week so we could finish up our work together before the Thanksgiving holiday. I didn't even know how Bella felt about me finishing up this project. We hadn't discussed the future with regard to Victoria. Considering our current issues, now was not the time to talk about it.

"Is everything all right?" Bella asked. She was nervously biting at her thumbnail, as she went to sit on the bed. She pulled her hair tie out of her hair and shook it out. I love her hair. She was so good at distracting me. Her big brown eyes kept scanning my practically naked body. Maybe I was a bit distracting as well. I pulled out some boxers and jeans.

"Charles called. Victoria's grandmother passed away so we won't be able to finish up this week," I answered dropping my towel. Her breathing definitely stopped. Oh, I was _very_ distracting.

After a couple beats, she inhaled and then spoke, "That's too bad."

I slid into my boxers and walked over to the bed. I laid my jeans on the bed and walked over to the nightstand where my iPod was sitting in the charger/speaker/alarm clock/God-knows-what-else piece of technology my wife bought me when she got tired of waking to my old school alarm clock, you know the kind that just beeps annoyingly but actually gets you up. I turned on the iPod and turned up the volume. The sound of Breaking Benjamin filled the room. Bella quirked an eyebrow at me obviously confused by my sudden need for loud music.

I slowly walked around the bed to her. I grabbed her hand preventing her from completely destroying her poor finger.

"I hate James, you hate Victoria. I have to finish working with Victoria, you have to work with James. I love you, you love me. I'm sorry, you're sorry. I am tired of fighting and arguing and being mad, frustrated, and fucking afraid. You, hopefully, are the same."

"I am. I am so tired of fighting with you," Bella raised up on her knees so we were almost looking eye to eye.

I grabbed the hem of her shirt and began lifting it over her head. She raised her arms so I could pull it off of her.

Option #4: Have sex. Screw the hell out of each other so we don't have to think about this shit any longer. Not sure why I didn't think of this earlier. This should always be my default option.

The best part about this option is I get to be the man and she has to be the woman. _ Me Tarzan, you Jane._ No matter how much she wants to be equal, this is one thing she can't do anything about. I have a dick and she doesn't. _Thank you, God._

I took her face in my hands and kissed her on her mouth. Then I tilted her head up and kissed my way down her neck.

"What about Rosalie?" she half asked, half moaned.

"The music's loud enough to make her think we're trying to cover up an arguement. She'll never be the wiser," I said huskily as I unlatched her bra and slid the straps down her arms. I kissed each shoulder and then went back to her mouth. After a minute of heavy petting and some intense making out, I pulled back to look at her.

The song seeped into my consciousness. The words ringing all too true.

_I wanted to forgive  
I'm trying to forgive  
Don't leave me here again  
I'm with you forever, the end_

_Say something new  
I have nothing left  
I can't face the dark without you  
There's nothing left to lose  
The fight never ends  
I can't face the dark without you _

Bella was licking the droplets of water that gathered along my collarbone. She ran her warm hands down my chest. This was better than fighting, pretending, or talking. This had to be the best option. I began to pull her sweats down while her hands helped remove the boxers I had just foolishly put on. She got out of her pants and underwear and I took a moment to let my hands roam across her body. She was a woman, soft in all the right places. Her eyes stayed focused on mine as I brought my hand between her legs. She moaned and her eyes fluttered for a second. Our mouths met and I forced my tongue in, not waiting for her let me. My need to dominate was strong. I tugged on her earlobe with my teeth the I brushed my lips by her ear.

"Turn around," I whispered. She kind of squeaked and seemed to freeze in her spot.

"Now." I commanded using my hands on her hips to turn her. My arms wrapped around her and I let one hand drift between her legs once again. Then I pushed her forward gently. Lifting her hips up, I took her from behind. Both of us kind of growled. I kept one hand on her hip and one on her lower back, thrusting myself into her slowly and deliberately. I pulled her body up to mine and swept her hair to the side so I could kiss her neck while I palmed her breasts. She turned her head so we could kiss on the mouth again.

"Come for me, baby," I said into her neck as she rocked back and forth against me. I reached my hand around to help her along. It didn't take much. She reached up and grabbed my head in her hands, her fingers twisting in my damp hair. She arched her back and pulled my head into the back of her shoulder as she came hard.

_Me fucking Tarzan, you Jane._

* * *

"Where's Rosalie and Lily?" my brother greeted me as he got in the car.

"Good to see you too, Em. Really, it was no problem driving in rush hour to O'Hare from the city. I fucking love it. I can't wait to sit in the car with you for another hour while we drive the whole ten miles back home. It's going to be great!" I said, balling my fists up and shaking them in front of me like I was cheering.

"I thought they would be with you, sorry. Thanks for picking me up," he replied earnestly, pushing me playfully with his giant paw.

"I thought we were supposed to keep them out of sight as much as possible. They're waiting for you at home."

"Alone, though, right?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, but the building is secure. I mean, it is now that Bella made sure the building manager fixed the main door. We have nice strong locks and Bella gave Rosalie some pepper spray to keep on her. So, I'm sure she's fine," I assured him.

We spent the hour drive back to the city talking about his flight, the flight attendant with the biggest ass he's ever seen, and then finally my thoughts on how Rosalie was doing. I tried to convince him that she was fine for the most part.

"The woman spends more time on her Blackberry than I thought humanly possible, even on the weekend. Can I just say I'm glad I don't work for her? She barks out orders like a fucking drill sergeant. I think she had somebody in tears earlier today because she asked if she had to get him a box of kleenex or if he could man up and do what she asked. Whatever she's trying to take care of for you, she's doing one hell of a job. She scares me."

Emmett laughed. We talked a little about what happened Saturday. The whole thinking someone was following her was unnerving at first but after her self-defense lessons with Bella and the asshole, she seemed more relaxed.

"I'm warning you, Bella created somewhat of a monster. I was walking to the kitchen to get some fucking orange juice this morning and the next thing I know, your wife is tossing me this way and that until my ass hit the ground. She seems to forget she was taught how to defend herself not attack innocent brother-in-laws who just wanted a little sweet Florida nectar in the morning."

Emmett chuckled. "That sounds like Rose, always the overachiever. I'll have to see what she can do to a real man," he said elbowing me in the shoulder.

"Fuck you, dude. If you want me to take her ass down, I can. I watched Bella teach her all that shit, too. I could probably take you down, jackhole," I replied angrily. _Did everyone think I was such a puss?_

"Now _that_ I would like to see, little brother."

I shook my head as I relaxed off the brake so we could move a whole inch. I fucking hate the traffic in this city sometimes. Not as bad as L.A. but damn close. Bella and I need to move to Podunk, South Dakota or something, where we're the only one with a damn car.

Once we made it back, Emmett took the stairs up to our condo two at a time. I realized he had seen Rosalie recently but not Lily. It had been almost four weeks since he saw her last. I matched his strides and got up the stairs just behind him. I unlocked the door and then stepped out of the way so he could bust in.

"Baby!" Rosalie yelled as she made a mad dash for my brother who was quick to drop his suitcase and snatch her into his arms. They did that whole lift the girl off the ground, spin her around, kiss, and then set her back down thing you see in movies. _Oh Lord, they were perfect, weren't they?_ They shared another perfect kiss, complete with leg pop. I will admit to watching Princess Diaries one Saturday when Bella went out with her mom somewhere and I needed mindless TV to keep me occupied, thus my knowledge of the technical term for this move. Once he finished his romantic little moment with Rosalie, Emmett made his way to Lily who was kicking up a storm and cooing like a madwoman in the bouncy seat.

"Is that my little princess? Is that my sweet girl? How'd you get so big?" his voice full of love and affection. He turned to Rosalie as he picked Lily up, "Is she bigger? How much bigger is she? Shit, she feels so different in my arms even."

"She's maybe a little bigger. I haven't weighed her or anything. Some of those three month outfits are starting to get a little small on her," Rosalie said, wrapping one arm around Emmett and reaching a hand up to touch Lily's cheek.

I was such an asshole. I was so pissed all morning that Emmett was coming, but seeing them together as a family, it was clear there was nowhere else he should be. I went into the kitchen to grab a drink.

"Anybody need something to drink?" I said through the pass through.

"I'm good," they both said at the same time, never taking their eyes off their daughter.

I drank half my Coke in the kitchen, feeling like I was intruding on a family moment out there.

"Edward, come out here so we can show Em what we learned yesterday!" Rosalie called.

I walked out into the living room shaking my head, "No way. I am done with this Steven Seagal karate bullshit."

"Aw, come on, Edward. You said you could take her ass down if I let you. Go ahead and try," Emmett challenged, making me want to take him down if it weren't for Lily being in his arms.

"He said that?" Rosalie spun to face me, her eyes set afire.

"I said you've been attacking me ever since yesterday and I'm tired of it. I didn't know you were going to turn into She-Ra over there."

"She-Ra? That is so who you are, babe. Mistress of the Universe!" Emmett boomed loudly. He was going to take some getting used to. I rubbed my head hoping it would relieve the headache that was building.

"That makes you Master of the Universe," she winked back at him.

_Gross. _

"Master of his own domain maybe," I teased. Emmett flicked me off with the hand behind Lily's back.

"Come on, Edward. Just do it once. So I can show him what I learned. Please?" Rosalie begged.

I kept shaking my head. I was not going to be taken down by She-Rose in front of my brother, who would never let me hear the end of it.

"I'll do it babe. Tell me what to do and you can try it on me," Emmett offered.

"Great idea. Please, I'll take the baby," I said, holding my arms out to take Lily from him.

They pushed some of the furniture out of the way and Rosalie tried to explain what she wanted him to do. This was going to be hilarious. One of them was going to get hurt, I just knew it. Either way it went it down would be fun for me to watch.

"Ok, now just act like you're going to restrain me, you know grab me and throw me in a car or something," Rosalie instructed. Emmett nodded his head as he rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt. "But don't try to strangle me because then I'm supposed to break your foot or your finger and we can't really do that," she added quickly.

"Did Edward try to strangle you?" he stood totally erect, making himself look much taller than me sitting in the chair.

"I didn't do shit to her!" I said defensively.

Rosalie clarified, "No, James choked Bella. No one choked me."

"Who the hell is James and why was he choking Bells?" Emmett said, looking more confused.

My chest tightened at the sound of his name and the memory of him with his hand on Bella's neck.

"We didn't get to this last night, did we? James is Bella's partner. He came over to help out yesterday."

"Ah, the partner. We don't like him, right?" Emmett asked. They had obviously already discussed James.

"Edward hates him, Bella is often annoyed by him. Try not to talk about him too much it makes them fight. Of course, these two fight about everything."

I huffed loudly in protest.

"Ok, that might be an overstatement but they fight way too much, that's for sure. They both have some insecurity issues they need to resolve if things are ever going to get better," Rosalie expounded.

I cocked my head in annoyance.

"What are you and Bells fighting about now?" Emmett turned to me.

"Can you two focus? Get on with your little fight for universal dominance, He-Man. Leave me alone," I balked.

"Seriously, you better be nice to Bells," Emmett pointed down at me.

"Oh, please, she's half the problem, don't even get me started on what drama she caused here yesterday," Rosalie said in my defense.

"Ok, Mrs. and Dr. Phil, thank you for your enlightening view on my marriage. Back to business. I want to see Emmett hurt himself trying not to hurt you but trying to make this look real. Good luck with that." I positioned Lily so she had a good view of her parents and their ridiculous antics.

"Ok, ready?" Rosalie asked.

"Ready,"

Emmett didn't hesitate; he lunged for her the second he said ready, giving her no time to think. He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. He used one arm to hold her and the other to tickle her sides.

"Stop it! No tickling," Rosalie squealed. Emmett lifted her enough to get his arm under her legs as well and then plopped her on the ground with his body securely on top of her.

She pushed up on his chest and he grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head.

"Do I win?" he smirked.

"You win," she conceded.

"Do I get a prize? I am the Master of the Universe, you know," he leaned down, their faces an inch apart.

"Take whatever you like," she flirted.

He, of course, went in for the kiss. Wet, open mouthed kissing. Private, should not be done in front of other people, kissing. Making me uncomfortable beyond belief kissing.

"Daughter and brother still in the room!" I screamed, holding my hand over Lily's eyes. "You guys can play He-Man and She-Ra when you're back in Seattle. Do not do any of that here!" I pleaded.

Emmett jumped up easily and helped Rosalie up.

"Why don't you show me where our bed, I mean, room is. We'll put my _stuff _away," he said to Rose winking when he said stuff, as if I was an idiot and had no idea what fucking sexual innuendo was.

I looked at them in complete disbelief, "Seriously you two. Thin walls. Very thin walls."

Emmett went and retrieved his suitcase and they ignored me as they walked back to the bedroom hand in hand, eyes for only one another.

"Lily and I will only entertain ourselves for one episode of Spongebob!" I yelled as they closed the door behind them. I quickly turned on the TV and turned up the volume so any and all sounds would be blocked out. "Thin walls!" I reminded one more time.

_Great. My brother's here._

**A/N #2: I don't own Twilight or He-Man Master of the Universe, leg pops, Seinfeld jokes, Spongebob or Breaking Benjamin's song Without You, although I enjoy all of them. Come on, if you're over 30 you know you had a thing for He-Man and his blond bob, undies and boots. That's all the man wore. Seriously. If only his action figure was big enough to play dirty with Barbie. Ah, memories. Review and let me know what you think!! **


	19. Chapter 19 Challenges

BPOV

A good day. I deserved a good day for once. This month had been pretty shitty and I was due one good day. I rode the L home feeling like today had actually been a true success. Emily "ohmygod" Potter came in first thing this morning and signed her affidavit stating she saw J. Jenks and Angela Cheney on several occasions in the Starbucks one block from Mr. Jenks' home. She flirted relentlessly with James which made me smile because he found it so extremely annoying. For my own enjoyment, I handed her a card with his cell phone number on it claiming he was kind of shy and didn't want to give it to her himself, worried it would look unprofessional but she should call him - often. He was going to have to change his number. I high fived myself internally. We secured our warrant and headed over to Jenks' place. We didn't find Angela Cheney hiding in the basement but we found some interesting clues. There was obviously a rug missing from his dining room, the floor was slightly discolored where it used to lay. There were a bunch of receipts on his dresser, one in particular from Macy's. He had bought all new bedding for his bed on the Saturday after Angela went missing. James was certain if we checked, we would find that the carpet in the master bedroom had been cleaned recently. All circumstantial evidence at best but a good start. His computer was taken in to be swept. I had already noted that it was interesting that Angela received an email from Jenks almost every day up until that Friday she went missing. After that he sent nothing, even though he stated he was not aware of her being missing until he saw it on the news almost a week after she disappeared. We were going to have so much to talk to him about once we got some info back on his computer and checked into the carpet cleaning. Things weren't looking good for Angela. I wasn't feeling good about this having a happy ending. My big downer for the day was talking to Ben Cheney and telling him we had some promising leads but nothing that led us any closer to finding her alive. I could hear the sadness in his voice as he thanked me for our continued efforts. That guy never saw it. Never saw his wife's unhappiness, her need for something more. Was it possible to be that blind? Maybe she was just that good at covering it all up. Who knows?

I stood as my stop approached. Jumping off the train, my mind was wandering as I began walking towards home. It was so dark at this time of night during the fall. I miss the summer when I got to come home and the sun still shined. It made me feel like the whole day wasn't wasted at work. The recent daylights saving time change didn't help. I shoved my hands deep into my jacket pockets, the cold was another thing that I hated about this time of year. I could see my breath as I shuffled hurriedly to get home. It wouldn't be long before the snow came and then this walk would be a total pain in the ass.

Another successful part of the day was getting major apologies out of Peter and Garrett. Peter called me in the morning and swore up and down he didn't intend to call Captain about me, that he called for other reasons and that my issues with James just "came up". I didn't totally believe that to be true but he sincerely apologized for overstepping so I accepted. I confronted Garrett in the coffee room and he admitted to talking to Peter about the way James acts around me. He, too, swore he did not tell Peter to call Captain and claimed he had no idea Peter would bring it up to Captain. I wasn't sure he was telling me the whole truth but I appreciated the apology and the promise to mind his own business. He did say one thing that stuck with me all day. He said the only reason he said something to Peter was he overheard James talking to Jared one day, asking him if he knew where I lived. He also was pumping Jared for info on me and Edward. Well, now he knew where I lived because I invited him over. Why he felt the need to have it before was a little unsettling.

There wasn't a lot of traffic as I walked down Milwaukee Avenue. I turned on a side street to get home and had my head down to protect my face from the freezing ass wind. As I crossed the street, I looked up and saw a man standing by a car up the road. It looked like he was pounding on the roof of the car as he leaned in through the passenger side window. It was dark and they were far away. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and a black knit hat. He kind of looked like James but maybe I thought that because I was just thinking about him. As I got closer, I could definitely tell the man outside the car was arguing with the man inside the car. I couldn't see in the car at all. Keeping my eyes on them, I quickened my pace. Just as I got close enough the guy outside opened the car door and got in the car. I started to run, I needed to see who was in that car, I didn't know why, I just needed to. Before I could get close, the car took off away from me. I pulled my cell out and dialed James. I had to know if it was him.

James had left work before me tonight, leaving me to finish up some paperwork. It was the first time he had seemed in a rush to get out of there. Why would he be hanging out a block from my place, arguing with someone in a car? It didn't make sense.

He didn't pick up. The call went to voicemail. I almost hung up but then I realized he would know I called, I needed to leave a message.

"James, it's Bella. Um, I'm just calling to tell you I gave your phone number to Emily Potter this morning. The guilt is too much. I had to confess. Sorry."

I hung up and shoved the phone back in my pocket, continuing my walk home. Something was not right but I couldn't put my finger on it. Not only did James leave before me, he wasn't himself all day. I didn't mention it or complain because it was a nice change of pace. He was checking his phone a lot and made a couple calls out of earshot. At the time, no big deal. Now, I wondered who he could be dealing with all of the sudden. James never spoke of family or friends. He's obviously been at my beckon call the last two days. Tonight he doesn't answer.

I turned onto our street and was scanning the area like a cop instead of a resident, relaxing only after I was securely in the building. I raced up the stairs and walked into the condo, looking forward to seeing Edward and Emmett. The first thing I noticed was the TV was way too loud and Spongebob was laughing annoyingly. Habit almost made me lock up my gun but for some reason I felt I should keep it on me.

I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on the back of one of the dining room chairs as I made my way into the living room. Edward was sitting on the couch with Lily staring at the TV like he was afraid to look anywhere else.

"Loud enough for you?" I shouted over the TV.

Edward turned to me in obvious relief.

"Thank the Lord!" he gasped. He grabbed the remote and turned the volume down.

"Bella's home! Put your pants on and get out here!" he yelled, startling me and the baby in his arms. Lily started to cry and Edward jumped up and tried bouncing her a little while apologizing quietly in her ear. He was so fucking adorable with Lily it made my heart ache in a good way. I didn't want children right now, but the thought of an adorable little boy with Edward's green eyes made me want to take him back in our bedroom and practice making one at least.

Rosalie came out of the guest bedroom looking like she just finished procreating.

"Ah, hence the loud TV," I said putting two and two together. Poor Edward. I gave him a sympathy pat on the shoulder. Edward handed Lily to Rosalie with a scowl on his face.

"Hi, Bells. Emmett will be out in a sec," Rose smirked. She sat down and immediately whipped out a boob to feed Lily.

"Damn it, Rosalie! Can you give a guy like a five second warning? As if your little display earlier hasn't left me needing to scrub out the inside of my head, now you just throw your tit around like I'm not even in the room!" Edward fumed.

"Sorry," Rosalie said, completely not sorry.

"What was that about my wife's tits?" Emmett asked, striding out of the bedroom looking like he had spent plenty of quality time with Rosalie's tits recently. "Bellsee, Bellsee, bop, diddy bop!" he sang, grabbing me up in a big bear hug.

I heard Edward groan next to me. He was not a lover of the nicknames.

"How are you? How was your flight?" I asked when he finally released me and air flowed through my lungs again.

"Good. Happy to be with my family again. The flight sucked a little but hey, I'm here and all is good," he smiled.

I looked at Edward, who I noticed glanced at the gun still on my hip. His face said everything. He hated that I hadn't locked my gun up since the supposed stalking incident on Saturday. I grabbed his hand and he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Welcome home," he murmured.

I will never get tired of something as simple as that. Edward had no idea how easily he affected me. In fact, if I thought Emmett would leave us alone I'd turn the volume back up on the TV and take my husband for a spin in our room. My mind wandered to our little make up session yesterday. Edward went all caveman on me. I'm surprised he didn't grab me by the hair and drag me around the room. It was hot, very hot. The way he talked to me and touched me. The memory of it began making me a little dizzy and warm and tingly and... My eyes refocused on Emmett, who was standing in front of me looking at me like something was wrong.

"Bells? Did you hear me?" he asked, narrowing his eyes, waving a hand in front of my face.

I shook my head. I had no idea what he said. My sexual fantasy had completely rendered me a space cadet.

"What?" I replied, blinking furiously.

"You ok? You got all glassy-eyed," Emmett said concerned.

"Sorry. What did you say?" I asked, brought back to reality.

"Is it all right if we go over some stuff tonight? I brought all the stuff the private investigator has come up with so far. I want you to look over it and give me your impressions," he looked at me, making sure I was following along this time.

I nodded, "Absolutely." That's right - attempted murder, murder, car bombs, false accusations. How could I forget we were still dealing with all of that? I had promised him on the phone the other day that I would go over everything he had.

After dinner, Rosalie and Emmett gave Lily a bath while Edward and I sat on the couch enjoying some quiet time. He had his arms wrapped around me and my head rested on his chest as I sprawled my legs out on the rest of the couch. One of his hands rested over the spot where my scar was, I knew this was on purpose. His thumb made little circles over it. His other hand was wrapped around mine.

"Did you have a good day?" he asked, slipping his fingers in between mine.

"It was a very good day actually. Making progress on the case. Cleared the air with a couple people," I said relaxing into him.

"Who'd you need to clear the air with?" he asked, as I stiffened in his arms. I knew his thought immediately jumped to James. I tried to relax so he wouldn't sense my unease with this topic.

"Garrett and Peter. Sometimes I feel like everybody thinks I'm like the little sister they all have to protect and take care of. It's annoying."

"Peter? What did Peter do?" he said, his thumb moving slower over my scar.

"He talked to Captain about me. He was so stupid. He acknowledged he was out of line." I kept it general.

"What did he talk to the captain about?" Edward asked, his thumb pressing harder on my scar. His body tensed underneath me.

"Just concerns he had, it was stupid." It was a feeble attempt on my part to limit the information. He was not having any of it.

"It must have been enough to make him go to the captain about, come on, what was it?" he cajoled me.

I sighed, resigned to the fact that I was going to have to say his name eventually. I tried to avoid it a little longer.

"The same thing you've been worried about."

I waited, holding my breath. I wanted him to figure it out so I didn't need to say his name.

"Peter's been worried about the upcoming CTA cutbacks and how that's going to impact your ability to get home to me every night promptly at 6:15?" I tilted my head back to see his eyes wide with mock horror.

At least he was joking and not mad. Funny Edward was so much better than Mad Edward.

"Exactly, I mean, did he really think the captain could do something about how many trains would run the Blue Line? Ridiculous." I shook my head and clucked my tongue. He laughed and his chuckling shook me lightly. We sat in silence for another moment.

"Why are Garrett and Peter worried about James?" he asked, his voice serious.

_Shit._ I knew it was too good to be true.

"Same reasons you are," I answered, unsure of how he would digest that information. We spent a couple more minutes just sitting. The only sound was our breathing and Rose and Emmett talking baby talk to Lily in the bathroom down the hall.

"Well, it's good to know that I'm not just the jealous asshole husband," he finally said, resuming his thumb circling on my scar.

"No silly, you're the _sweet ass_ jealous husband," I teased. I turned my head and kissed him under his jaw.

"Also good to know."

Rosalie and Emmett came out of the bathroom and Emmett took a freshly bathed Lily into the bedroom to get ready for bed. Rose sat in the chair. Her fingers tapped on the cushioned armrests.

"Are you two fighting again?" she asked staring us both down with her evil, I'm-smart-and-think-I-know-everything glare.

I looked up at Edward and smiled. He kissed my forehead.

"Wow, not fighting. Impressive," she nodded, ceasing her finger tapping. "I never know what to expect when I leave you two alone. You have this way of starting a war with no warning to us innocent bystanders."

"Be careful, Rosalie. We could join forces and attempt a hostile takeover of the Masters of the Universe," Edward warned. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"You two wouldn't last a second against me and Em. We will reign supreme for all of time. We're the ultimate Cullen couple. No one will ever rise above us," Rosalie boasted as she kicked her feet up on the coffee table and stared at her perfectly manicured fingernails.

I sat upright and narrowed my eyes at her, "Excuse me? The 'ultimate Cullen couple'? Are you serious?"

"Ah, yeah," she said looking up at me. "You two are a disaster half the time. We could go toe to toe on about anything and Emmett and I would definitely win because _we_ are the perfect team," she replied flippantly.

I could feel the challenge in her words increase my heart rate and cause me to clench my fists.

"Oh man, now you've done it," Edward said, shaking his head and smashing his lips together.

"Edward and I could mop the floor with you two in several things, little Miss Sunshine. We might not be perfect but it's our mistakes that make us stronger. You two are just sitting on your little straight and narrow line, going nowhere fast. At least our ups and downs help us reach new heights!" I said squaring my shoulders and shooting my death rays at her.

Edward gently rubbed my back, trying to calm me down so I didn't attack our sister-in-law here in our living room.

"Ha! When you're at the top of the highest mountain, baby, there are no higher heights," Rosalie said leaning forward and blowing my death rays to bits with her evil laser beams.

"Em! Any time buddy! I think we might have a problem out here!" Edward called for reinforcements. Emmett was the enemy and no one was going to stop me and Rose now.

"You're right, Rose. You two have nowhere to go but DOWN!" I countered standing up.

"Oh, silly Isabella. Name your game. Anything. Emmett and me against you and Edward. Winner can claim the title of Ultimate Cullen Couple," Rosalie stood up, totally unafraid of me.

"Oh, you're on," I responded, raising an eyebrow at her. Edward looked like a frightened child sitting somewhat in between me and Rosalie. His eyes kept moving from me to her.

"What's going on out here?" Emmett said coming out of the bedroom. "Edward are you fighting with Bella again?"

"No, but our wives are starting a Cullen Civil War."

"You two are going down," I threatened, pointing my finger at both Rose and Emmett. They think they're so perfect. Ok, they are pretty perfect. They're beautiful, smart, strong, madly in love with each other. They never fight. They think the same thoughts most of the time. They can't keep their hands off each other and they make perfect babies. Ok, maybe Edward and I are in trouble.

"Baby, I love you and I think we are fucking awesome but do you really want to take these two on?" Edward asked, nodding in Emmett and Rosalie's direction like they couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Don't you doubt us. We can totally kick their ass," I encouraged. He gently pulled me down to sit next to him.

Laughter erupted from the other Cullen couple. Rosalie sat back down in the chair.

"Bells, come on. We love you guys but really, it's us," Emmett said sitting on the arm of the chair with his hand on Rosalie's shoulder.

I stood up, invigorated with the idea of putting these two in their place.

"Here's the deal. Three challenges. Best two out of three wins. Each couple picks a challenge and we'll decide on the third together."

"Not that we'll need the third challenge," Rosalie muttered. Emmett fist pounded her in response.

Ignoring their bravado, I continued, "Winner gets to claim the title Ultimate Cullen Couple. Winner gets obvious bragging rights. Winners also will have the final vote on things like where we vacation together or spend holidays. They get the best room at Carlisle and Esme's when we're all in LA together."

"Losers have to sit on either side of Grandma at Christmas dinner," Emmett added.

"No way! That is not right. We take turns on that one Emmett. That's always been the deal since we were little. It is cruel to ask someone to do that every year!" Edward immediately protested.

Edward and Emmett's grandmother had _interesting_ table manners. She was almost 80 years old and ate like she was a toddler who hadn't completely mastered the use of utensils. Whoever had to sit by Grandma at Christmas dinner was usually treated to some scraps that tended to land on their plate as she ate. She also used her hands and then liked to touch whoever was close enough for her to reach. Edward had to throw away the shirt he wore last Christmas because she mauled him with buttery fingers. I couldn't even think about the dentures, not with my belly full of food. Edward has explained that even Emmett's appetite has been curbed by having to sit next to his grandmother.

"Chickenshit," Emmett coughed into his hand.

"Losers sit next to Grandma," I agreed.

"Bella, baby! No!" Edward's head fell into his hands.

I tried to reassure him, "We're going to be fine. I promise. Emmett is never going to enjoy a Christmas dinner again until dear old Gran is dead and gone."

We agreed that starting tomorrow night we would begin the UCC Games. I wasn't sure what I had just got is into but I was going to fucking win.

* * *

After Emmett and Rosalie congratulated themselves on making the deal of the century, Emmett and I sat down at the dining room table to look over the private investigators evidence. I spent a good hour reading everything and discussing some issues with Emmett. Rosalie hovered occasionally while Edward wanted nothing to do with this. It was possible that the bomb had been set and didn't go off when Emmett drove it to the courthouse that morning. There was no way it was set after Emmett got there and Riley blew up. The red light camera showed no one else went near it all morning. What was recovered from the debris seemed to point to an electric detonator. Typically you would see this if the bomb was attached to the ignition. The jolt from the car battery would set off the bomb. According to the police report, the bomb was on or under the passenger seat. Obviously under, I'm pretty sure Emmett would have noticed a bomb on the passenger seat of his car. What had everyone at the Seattle PD confused is why it didn't go off when Emmett started the car. What I knew from a case I dealt with here was it was possible that the bomb was attached to a detonator that was remotely controlled as well. If that were the case, then why would it have gone off with Riley in the car? That would be a major fuck up for whoever was in charge of detonating it. I could see why the police thought it was Emmett even though the idea was completely ludicrous.

Emmett and I talked a long time about what he knew about Riley. He hadn't had the investigator look into him and I thought that was a bad idea. We needed to make sure Riley didn't have any enemies. If this was a remote detonation then maybe Riley was the target. Slim chance, but something we should rule out. Riley and Emmett were arguing the Friday before the bomb. Riley had misplaced some files that Emmett needed to give Federal Prosecutor and Emmett's temper was short. Emmett had gotten some information that there was a possible cluster of Volturi controlled cops and judges in Portland. Emmett had Riley looking into it because he had some connections in Portland, having grown up there and starting his career there. Riley was convinced that Emmett's information was bad. Emmett accused him of misplacing the files on purpose. They yelled, Emmett told him he would be sorry if those files weren't on his desk Monday morning. That was the "threat on Riley's life" that was overheard. No wonder they hadn't pressed charges against Emmett, any self respecting judge would throw this case out in a millisecond. Looking closer at Riley seemed the way to go.

* * *

The next day at work I was preoccupied with theories and questions that had been created out of my discussion with Emmett. I typed in the name Riley Cummins into Google and was waiting to see what popped up when James walked in. James had a nice gash above his right eye that was being held together with a couple butterfly bandages and a split lip.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked as he sat down across from me.

"Why the hell did you give my cell number to a witness?" he angrily attacked.

I was caught off guard by his harsh tone, "I said I was sorry. It was a joke."

He ignored me and took off his coat and booted up his computer.

"Seriously, what happened? Did Emily do a reverse lookup with your number and hunt you down last night or something?" I smiled, trying to lighten his sour mood.

"Got in a fight, Izzy. Anything else you need to know? Would you like a hit by hit recount? Maybe I can draw you some diagrams, show you how I beat the shit out of the other guy after he got his hits in," he said bitterly.

"Geez, sorry for caring! I'll be sure to not speak to you the rest of the day, asshole."

"Asshole? You know Iz -" he stopped himself and took a couple shallow breaths. He stared at me and I could feel the intensity but couldn't figure out what was going on behind those eyes of his. He seemed so affronted that I would call him an asshole. I had called him an asshole almost every day. Why take offense now?

"I asked what happened because I was concerned. You didn't need to bite my head off."

"You're right." He stood up and walked into the coffee room. I rubbed my face with my hand, trying to calm my own breathing which had picked up during our little exchange.

"Dude, how bad does the other guy look?" Jared joked as he walked past James, who was returning to his desk with some coffee.

"He looks a whole hell of a lot worse than this," James smiled pointing to his eye.

_What the fuck? Jared gets smiles and a normal response?_

"What the hell were you fighting about, Duncan? Did the guy spill your strawberry daiquiri or something, princess?" Jared continued.

"Hilarious, hairy palms. We were fighting over a woman, what else? I was the big hero last night. What can I say? I'm just an asshole like that," James sat back down looking right at me as he finished his sentence.

I cocked my head in frustration. He was an asshole.

"Hope she was worth it. That looks like it hurt," Jared said whacking James on the back of the head with his folded up newspaper.

James kept his eyes on me. His stare gripped my throat tightly. I felt like I could barely breathe.

"I hope so," he responded softly. The hairs on my neck stood up and the same chill that ran down my spine when he touched me on Friday returned.

The image of a man that looked like James arguing with a man in a car and then driving away flashed before my eyes. What the hell was going on?

**A/N: The plot thickens... Hit review and tell me what you think. **


	20. Chapter 20 The Good, the Bad, the Funny

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.  
This chapter is both Bella and Edward because there is too much going on with Bella right now. In a desperate attempt to get some more reviews I have added a special POV to this chapter at the end. Hopefully it will inspire some comments, some questions, some discussion. Of course, thanks for reading even if you don't review. =)**

EPOV

I spent the day listening to Emmett and Rosalie discuss which challenge they should choose for their "first win" in the UCC Games. The rules were simple, the challenge had to be something that tested our strength as a team. So far, they came up with some pretty lame ideas like Scrabble and Trivia Pursuit. They were so sure that any battle of wits would end in an easy victory for them. So totally obnoxious.

"What about a sport? Basketball or maybe doubles tennis?" Rosalie asked tapping her pen on the pad of paper she was writing ideas on.

"Babe, again, too easy. Never mind the fact that we have more athleticism in general, but we have a total height advantage in basketball and Edward is afraid of tennis balls. We'd just be playing against Bella. That really wouldn't be fair," Emmett answered.

"I can hear you guys, you do know that, right?" I interjected, resisting the urge to throw the book I was trying to read at my brother's head. Making jokes was one thing, talking about my tennis ball issues was another. "It's fucking November, you can't play tennis in Chicago in November."

"Edward is afraid of tennis balls? I thought Edward wasn't afraid of anything," Rose said setting her idea pad down, ignoring me completely.

Emmett began explaining, "Mom and Dad sent us to tennis camp one summer, certain we were going to be famous sibling tennis stars like Venus and Serena are now, but Edward got out on a court with this tennis ball machine and the thing started shooting balls and he freaked out, had like a mental breakdown. He ended up kicking over the machine and beat it with his tennis racket. Needless to say, he got kicked out. My dad had to drive all the way to San Diego and pick him up. Dad thought he was just causing trouble as usual. I kept his secret all these years."

Rosalie was gasping for air as she laughed herself silly. Emmett was pretending to be me ducking and diving out of the way of imaginary tennis balls in a panic.

"It did not just _start shooting_! It malfunctioned! It was like a tennis ball machine on fucking crack! It basically tried to kill me!" I defended. I was attacked and yes, traumatized. ESPN Magazine tried to send me to the US Open this September and I turned them down. I seriously have a panic attack just thinking about those green, fuzzy, balls of death. This is why I hate my brother sometimes.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Edward."

I decided it was worth it to throw my book at him. He moved out of the way easily.

"You know, Bella and I are going to win this and God help me, I am going to fucking eat my Christmas dinner on the far side of the table from you two and Grandma and then we'll see who's laughing! Then we'll see!" I screamed getting up and hiding myself in my bedroom. Their laughter continued to ring in my ears until I shoved my earphones in started blasting the music from my iPod. I was going to come up with the greatest challenge of all time. I was going to think of something that for sure Bella and I would beat their perfect little asses at. There had to be a way to use all their arrogance against them.

I laid on my bed, closed my eyes, and thought really hard. I was going to come up with the best idea. I was. It was going to come any minute now. It's coming. Here it comes. Ah, fuck it. I got nothing. Bella is going to think of the greatest challenge ever. She's going to come up with something that's going to make those two shut their damn mouths forever. Bella is so smart like that. I rested my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling.

"Edward!"

I looked up and Emmett was standing in the doorway holding my phone. I pulled my earphones out.

"Your phone was ringing," he said tossing it on the bed. "Dude, we weren't trying to bust your balls. You know I love you, Andre Agassi."

"Get the fuck out of here before I go all John McEnroe on your ass."

Emmett raised his hands in surrender. He smiled and closed the door behind him.

I grabbed my phone and checked the caller id. Victoria. I realized Bella and I had successfully avoided talking about what I should do about finishing this job. She never said that she wanted me to quit. We were almost done. Probably two more sessions and it would be over. Then the rest of the work would be done by me alone. Victoria would only be involved in picking out what she wants for her exhibit. Our exhibit. I really wanted this. Bella seemed to understand I had no desire to be with Victoria other than for work purposes and I understood I needed to have better boundaries. I could do that. I would do that.

I hit the button to call Victoria back.

"Edward."

"Victoria, I was so sorry to hear about your grandmother."

"Thank you. I assume you saw I called. I was worried you were going to avoid me after our little encounter on Saturday," she sounded very calm and composed. Our little _encounter _no longer seemed to burn her ass any more.

"I'd like to forget about Saturday if we can. I just want to move forward and do the best possible job for you that I can."

"That's great, Edward," she said kind of dismissively. "Listen, you took those pictures of me, my mother, and my grandmother. I would like to see them tonight. Can you do that?"

"Ah, yeah. Sure. Can I just develop the ones off my digital?" I asked surprised. I shouldn't be surprised. The woman was in the middle of planning a funeral. Of course she needed some pictures. Duh.

"That's fine. Whatever you can get together quickly. Bring them by my place, around 6 o'clock."

"Um, I can bring them by earlier if you need them." Six o'clock? Bella gets home around then. The last thing I wanted was to be out when she gets home.

"I am going to be running around all day, Edward. I will be home at six. That is when I need you to come over. Not earlier, not later. Print me out a contact sheet and I will choose what I need from that. I will only need one photo for the funeral. You can handle getting one of them blown up by Wednesday evening, can't you?"

The bitch was back. At least she didn't seem to be treating me like her cheating ex-boyfriend anymore. We were definitely all business.

"I can handle that. No problem. Whatever you need."

"Thank you. I will see you tonight."

"Tonight. Six o'clock. See ya," I said but I think she hung up before I finished speaking.

I threw my phone on the nightstand and leaned back on my pillow. I'm just dropping off a contact sheet and then I am waiting for her to pick a picture and then I'll be out of there. Simple. Fast. No problem.

I picked my phone back up and dialed Bella. Better get this out there as soon as possible.

"Hey," she said sounding happy to hear from me. It was refreshing and worrisome all at the same time. I didn't want to spoil her good mood.

"Hey. I, ah, wanted to tell you something right away. I just got off the phone with Victoria,"

"Oh," her voice changed. Damn it.

"She needs a picture of her grandmother for her funeral or whatever and I have some pictures of them that I took for her exhibit. So, I have to run over to her place tonight. Like around six. So, I just wanted you to know so there's no weirdness or whatever. You know, because I will be keeping my shirt on the _whole_ time and so will she and we'll just be looking at pictures of her dead grandmother which is totally not sexual in any way, shape, or form. Actually, it's totally the opposite of sexy and any thought of sex during the looking of old, dead grandmothers is totally wrong, so we should be fine. Right? I mean she isn't going to be trying to scratch me or jump me when she's thinking about her grandma. That would be gross. Now, I know you said I have like super mojo or whatever but I am pretty sure that the death of a loved one supersedes any thoughts of wanting to make out with a totally hot guy. Not that I would know what it's like to want to make out with hot guys because I don't! I just imagine she won't be thinking about making out with me and I will not make out with her even if she is because I love you and you are the only person I want to make out with. Which we can do when I get back from Victoria's, if you want. But totally not because I won't make out with Victoria and I'll be like frustrated and need to make out with someone. I'll make out with you because I want to make out with you because I love you. Right? You know that, right?" I rambled profusely. Why was my verbal diarrhea so out of control? My free hand tugged on my hair relentlessly.

She was quiet for a minute. It started making me more anxious. Like I needed to be more anxious. What the fuck was she thinking? It sounded like she was holding her hand over the phone. Everything was kind of muffled. I didn't dare open my mouth, though, for fear that more stupid idiocy would come pouring out.

"Ok," she said quickly and then there was more muffled noises.

"Bella? What's going on? Where are you? Can you hear me because I can barely hear you." I pictured her flicking off the phone and banging it against her head or something. She's probably pissed.

Then I heard something else. It sounded like - laughing. Giggling. Uncontrollable giggling.

"Are you laughing at me right now?" I demanded.

"Oh god, baby, that was the funniest damn thing you have said in the longest time. I couldn't hold it in. I'm sorry but when you said super mojo I think I almost peed myself." She continued to laugh and this time didn't bother to try to cover it up. It was the most beautiful sound I had heard all day.

"Glad I could brighten your day, sweetheart. You know me. I'm just a funny, funny guy."

"That you are. The funniest."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Love you."

"Love you, too." I hung up. I am pretty damn funny when I want to be. I am the funniest actually. Funnier that Emmett. Totally funnier than Emmett. Totally fucking funnier than Emmett. That was it! The challenge Bella and I came up with was going to bring Emmett and Rosalie to their knees.

I walked out into the living room and pulled Bella's computer out of her bag. I could print the contact sheet from here.

"Done pouting there baby brother?" Emmett teased. He was sitting on the couch holding Lily.

"You know you can put the baby down, Em. She can't move yet so she won't run away from you."

"Ha, ha. So funny."

Even he thought I was funny. I was feeling more confident about our ability to actually beat them at one challenge.

"I have some work to do, unlike you two vacationers." I set the computer on the dining room table and walked to the other end of it to grab my camera bag.

"Hey, can I use this computer a second to check my email? My Blackberry died and is charging in the other room." Rose asked. She probably needed to prove she could work harder than me even while on leave.

"Yeah," I mumbled, fumbling around trying to figure out where I put the blasted memory card.

Rosalie opened the laptop and it sprung to life. If ever there was a time I wished for super speed or the ability to turn back time, now was it. At the same moment I remembered where the card was, Rosalie shouted in surprise.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" I yelled. I felt like I was in slow motion, like I was running in water.

We never shut down Bella's computer after we looked at the pictures from our Friday night photo session. We had left the memory card in the laptop. We had left the pictures on the screen. Bella's beautiful but very naked body was on display. Rosalie saw it all.

I slammed the laptop shut before my brother could make it over to see what his wide eyed, now shocked into silence wife shrieked at.

"We will never speak of what you just saw. Do you understand me? Never. She must never know you saw that or we are both dead," I panted. You would have thought I just ran a fucking marathon or something the way I was breathing out of control.

Rose just stared at me. Emmett tried to grab for the laptop but I swatted his hand away.

"Don't touch it," I said firmly.

"What the hell? What's did she just see? What did you see, babe?" Emmett asked.

"None of your business. Just leave it alone, please," I begged.

"She let you do that?" Rosalie finally spoke.

I rolled my eyes at her. Like I took them against her will or something.

"_Bella_ let you do that? She doesn't do stuff like that." Rosalie looked dumbfounded.

"She lets me take pictures of her all the time." Rose frowned at my response. "Ok, so not these kind of pictures. These pictures were for me and only me. Please don't tell her you saw them. She agreed to taking them but she did not want anyone seeing them."

Rosalie was shaking her head. What the hell did she have to be such a bitch for? The whole time she's been here she's been ragging on us about telling each other the truth but this was stupid. This was nothing Bella needed to know. It would just embarrass her.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Emmett asked again, frustrated that he was out of the loop.

"Why can't you just let it go?" I said to Rose more than Emmett.

"I won't say anything but can I tell you something?" she asked. I felt some relief but I was also prepared to hear some speech about not pressuring Bella to do things just to make me happy or some shit like that.

"I'm sure I can't stop you," I replied, running my hand through my hair. I braced myself for her to unload on me.

"Obviously Bella is beautiful but I don't know what you did to make her look like that."

I furrowed my brow. What did that mean? How did I make her look like what? She looked amazing. She looked beyond amazing.

"You are good at what you do, Edward. You are really good."

I stuck my finger in my ear because my ear must be broken. There was no way she just complimented me. It was not possible that she would have something positive to say about my work.

"Seriously, Rosie, honey. What are you guys talking about? What kind of pictures did Edward take of Bella? Why can't I see?" Emmett fussed like a five year old.

"Some artsy stuff honey. She would be embarrassed if you saw her all girlie. Let it go. Just be glad there can't be a photography challenge for the UCC because even though I am the best looking model, Edward and Bella would kick our ass."

Two compliments in a matter of minutes. This might have been a record. I wasn't sure how to handle it. Rosalie tended to only be good at telling me off most of the time. I snickered and grabbed the laptop off the table. I would be finishing my work back in my bedroom where no one would accidentally see anything.

* * *

BPOV

I guess it was too much to ask for to have two good days in a row. Not only was my partner acting strange and staring at me in a way that made me want to crawl out of my skin, but we couldn't get the green light to pick up Jenks until we got some more evidence back. I knew what we really needed was to find Angela Cheney. I was sure she wasn't walking around but where she was hidden was still a mystery. I was hoping Jenks' computer would hold some possible answers but so far nothing stood out. We did learn that Jenks frequented many dating sites and seemed to correspond with several ladies. He was quite the casanova, it appeared. I didn't see the appeal but he did send some pretty suggestive emails to some of his lady friends that I could see heating up someone who was kind of lonely or unsatisfied in their current relationship. Nothing like that was ever sent to Angela. He had been careful not to email anything that would give away the nature of their relationship, at least the relationship I assumed they really had. He knew she was married and did a good job of keeping things on the down low.

We got a call in the afternoon that there was a DOA Jane Doe brought in to Illinois Masonic down on Wellington, a few blocks away from Angela Cheney's home. James and I went to check it out.

"Sure would be lucky if we could find her and close in on Jenks today," I said as we got in the car.

"Still could be the husband. What happened to not looking for evidence to fit your theory but letting the evidence do the talking?" James threw my own words at me.

"Touche. But come on, Jenks looks a thousand times better for this than Ben Cheney. What do you have against that poor guy?"

"Nothing. You're so defensive of him. Just like you are of your precious little CK model husband," he spat.

"What the hell does Edward have to do with any of this?" I asked, totally confused.

"Nothing. I don't want to think about him today," James growled and shifted away from me in his seat, staring out the window.

"Good, I don't want to talk about him either because Edward is none of your business."

His phone went off and he quickly pulled it out and checked his message. His face changed color, becoming red while his knuckled turned white as he squeezed his phone. I debated asking him what was wrong. So far today, any attempt I had made at being friendly had been met with anger and nastiness. I was in no mood to have him bite my head off again. At the same time my curiosity was killing me. He texted back and forth with someone for a few minutes. Then he shoved his phone back in his pocket as we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital.

"Everything all right there, Duncan?" I said casually, certain I wouldn't get much of an answer.

"No, Izzy, everything is not fine. Thanks for asking." He jumped out of the car and strode towards the entrance not bothering to wait for me.

This guy was unbelievable. He had more mood swings this week than a hormonal chick. I stayed a few steps behind him until we reached the check in desk in the ER. He whipped out his badge and announced our reason for being there. He didn't look at me and his hand was shoved in his jacket pocket with his phone. We were taken back to a viewing room. A doctor or somebody in a white coat explained that the woman's body had been brought in this morning. She had met the basic description of Angela Cheney so the other detectives had contacted us. He said the cause of death was gunshot wound to the abdomen. She also had several contusions on her head and face. She had been struck by someone or something before being shot. I figured we should take a look before we called Ben in here to identify the body. If it wasn't her, I would rather spare the poor guy the image. The doctor lifted the white sheet from the woman's face and right away I knew it wasn't Angela. Her features were significantly different and not just because of the beating this poor girl took.

"It's not her. It's not our missing person," I breathed in relief. I guess this wasn't the way I wanted poor Angela to go out. Beaten, shot to death, left in some alley. I had a feeling she was dead but hopefully she didn't die this brutally. Maybe I was also glad I didn't have to see Mr. Cheney's face when he came to identify her. That was something I was definitely not looking forward to.

James was already out the door. I thanked the doctor and headed out to find him. He was twenty paces ahead, looking for his way out but going the wrong way.

"Duncan, this way!" I shouted after him. What the hell was going on with him today?

James spun around and headed back the other direction, passing me without a word. I sighed and followed him to the car. He was back on his phone and reading some text that had come in.

"Fuck!" he yelled before getting to the car. He tossed his phone across the parking lot and it miraculously landed right in a little patch of green grass.

"What is going on with you?" I said getting in his face and putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me right now, Izzy. Don't touch me," he said, pushing my hand away. He wiped his face with his hand and headed over to his phone. He picked it up and stalked back to the car.

"You going to tell me what's going on or not? You show up with your face all beat up this morning, bite my head off every chance you get, and now you're acting like a fucking loon outside the hospital, killing defenseless phones," I chastised him.

He fixed his eyes on mine. I thought he was pissed but now I could see it was something else. Fear or sadness maybe.

"I didn't kill my phone. It's fine," he said, his mouth curving into a small smile.

Sensing he was lightening up, I walked to the car and opened my door, "Well, if it wanted to press charges for assault I would happily be its witness. You were not very nice to it."

"I'm not nice, Iz. I thought you had that figured out already," he said no longer smiling.

I didn't know how to respond. Again, he wore that look of sadness on his face.

"You could be nice, if you wanted to be. I mean, it may require a personality transplant but hey, the way things are advancing in the world of medicine, anything is possible."

"Yeah, anything is possible," he said sullenly. He got in the car and looked out the window again. We didn't speak the whole drive back to the station.

* * *

James POV

I fucking hate hospitals. I hate hospitals, I hate Chicago, I hate how Izzy drives, I hate that the justice system is nothing but a big joke, I hate that I will never be good.

I stood at the admissions desk waiting for the dumbass bitch behind the counter to fucking look at me so I could flash her my fucking badge and get this over with. I knew she was behind me as soon as the smell of strawberries hit me. Fucking Izzy. Why did she have to smell so fucking irresistible? Why did she have to look at me with those big fucking brown eyes that I just wanted to fucking get lost in for the rest of my life?

We made it back to the room where they were keeping Jane Doe on ice. I was hoping it would be fucking Angela Cheney so we could be one step closer to closing this case. It would make Izzy happy to solve this and put the bad guy behind bars. Whoever that was. Probably that dumb prick Jenks. He had stupid ass written all over his face the first time we met him. He would be dumb enough to have an affair with a married woman and then fucking kill her, leaving a fucking ton of evidence in his wake. Seriously, you buy brand new bedding the day after she disappears? Get your carpets cleaned the next day? Forget to email her ever again? Dumb ass.

The guy lifted up the sheet and all I could see was brown hair. Suddenly, I imagined Izzy laying on the table - cold, white, no fire in her fucking warm brown eyes. Dead. Izzy with a bullet in her stomach. Her blood dripping from her lifeless body. Her petite, beautiful body. Her mouth fallen open - no sweet breath ever passing through those pink, perfect lips. I had to get out of there. I wished I could leave this fucking city, disappear forever.

"Duncan, this way!" she yelled at me. Her voice like a velvet rope tugging me back to her. There was no way I could ever leave without her. I couldn't even look at her as I stormed past her to the car. My phone rang and I knew it was him again. I knew what he was going to say. I looked at the message and I was right. Exactly what he said was going to happen.

"Fuck!" I screamed throwing that piece of shit phone as far as I could fucking throw it. I thought I was going to get away. I thought there was a chance but of course, there was no fucking chance. Not for me. Not for her.

Then there was that fucking sweet ass smell again and her warm little hand was on my shoulder. I couldn't even hear what she was saying, my boiling blood was was shutting down that sense. She needed to get away from me. She should get as far away from me as possible. I knew this. I wanted to tell her but at the same time I wanted her with me forever. Ha. Wasn't that fucking perfect?

I got my phone and she wanted to know what was wrong. She was making jokes about defenseless phones. I would give anything to just take her away. Take her and keep her forever. My Isabella. She said something about me not being nice. I wasn't nice. I was the opposite of nice. I had never been nice. She knew that. She saw what I was, that's why she always looked at me like I was either annoying the shit out of her or scaring her to death. She was good and I wasn't. I could never be good.

"You could be nice, if you wanted to be. I mean, it may require a personality transplant but hey, the way things are advancing in the world of medicine, anything is possible," she said looking at me with all that fucking goodness. She was trying to be funny but Izzy wanted to believe that I wasn't all bad. She wanted to believe there was something worth saving in me.

"Yeah, anything is possible," I mumbled. I couldn't look at her anymore. She would make me want to believe what wasn't true. She would try to make me believe and I didn't know if I could stand to disappoint her.

**A/N: What? What??**


	21. Chapter 21 Dinner Disasters

**I don't own Twilight. **

EPOV

Six o'clock on the dot. I was nothing if not punctual. Bella's ability to be right on time had rubbed off on me. I rang the doorbell outside Victoria's house. She lived in this super modern, fairly new, single family house in West Town. We had met here a couple times to go over things for some of the shoots. The place had like five bedrooms, not that I went into any of them. It was strange to me that someone who was single and living in the city would choose to live in a big house all by themselves. It was a gorgeous place and filled with tons of art, but still not where I expected someone like Victoria to live.

She opened the door and walked away, leaving the door open for me to enter. No hello. No how's it going. No come on in. She was a piece of work. I assumed she wanted me to come in so I did and closed the door behind me. Something told me she was not over what happened on Saturday.

"I have the contact sheet here. Just tell me what you want and I'll have it printed up to whatever size you want."

"Well, I'm not going to look at in the damn foyer," she shouted from the kitchen.

I slipped out of my shoes and walked through the living room and into the kitchen. Victoria was stirring something on the stove.

"Take your jacket off. Sit," she said motioning to the dining area. She had two places set at the table and my stomach quickly tied itself into knots. I hoped she was having someone else over for dinner and I was not going to have to turn her down.

I took off my jacket and laid it on the arm of the couch in the living room.

"I assume you haven't eaten since Bella isn't usually home yet."

_Damn my super powered mojo!_

"No, but my brother is in town and we were planning a big family dinner when I get home."

"Of course," she said cooly, opening the oven and pulling out something in a casserole dish that smelled like heaven. "How nice to have family to have dinner with," her voice cracked and her hand flew up to wipe her cheek.

Shit, she was crying. Someone kill me now.

"Do you have much family coming in for the services?" I asked, figuring she was upset about her grandmother.

She nodded as she walked over to the table with her casserole.

"But no family of my own, you know?" she feigned a smile.

I didn't know what to say. Victoria was depressed she didn't have a husband and kids? What could I say?

_Hey, you're a hot 40 year old, so__me guy would be lucky to marry you and adoption is totally hip and hot right now. Go get yourself a nice little Chinese girl or maybe a kid from Ethiopia. Where did Brad and Angelina get all their kids from?_

Instead, I just sat there with a dumb look on my face. She grabbed a bottle of wine off the island and a salad bowl and brought them over to the table. She had a glass of wine already going for herself but she filled the glass in front of me. She went back to the island and placed some french bread slices into a basket before carrying that to the table as well. I felt I was somehow getting roped into dinner even though she had verbally accepted that I was eating with my family.

She sat down next to me, "Sometimes I wonder what happened. One day I was a twenty-something free-spirit, traveling around Europe, learning everything I thought there was to know about art, music, food, and sex."

Could this conversation get more uncomfortable? I grabbed my glass of wine and took a sip, hoping it would calm my nerves.

"The next thing I know, I'm turning forty. I have a fabulous gallery, a million friends, but no one to love, and definitely not enough sex."

Bingo! She found a way to make this more uncomfortable!

She filled her plate with the leafy, green salad and then spooned some of the hot and yummy smelling casserole on there. She got some food on her finger and while staring right at me licked it off by sticking it in her mouth and slowly pulling it out.

Seriously? Do I need to wear a sign that says not interested? Or would my super mojo affect her ability to read? I wasn't sure what my devilish good looks was capable of doing to women like Victoria. Obviously, I wasn't capable of making her see that I was a happily married man.

"Victoria, you have a lot of life to live. Love has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. Keep the faith."

Keep the faith? Did I just say that out loud? Someone shoot me.

"Oh, Edward. I wish I had your faith." She had one elbow on the table and dropped her head onto her hand. "Sometimes I believe I'm destined to be alone. I'll end up alone in some nursing home like my grandmother, but unlike her there will be no doting children or grandchildren coming to visit me."

She started crying again and I didn't know what the fuck to do.

I stood up, "Let me get you a Kleenex." I wandered back to the small powder room down the hall. I grabbed some tissues but stopped to look at myself in the mirror. I gave myself the _way to go idiot_ look and then headed back to Victoria.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I'm such a mess. Losing my grandmother has left me to think about things that I usually don't spend too much time worrying about really."

"No problem. I know it can't be easy. I hate to leave you like this,"

"Then stay," she jumped in before I could finish my sentence.

I didn't want to stay. I wanted to get the fuck out of there but she was crying and she was going on and on about being alone and she hadn't even looked at the contact sheet yet. I was never getting out of here. I was going to have to be rescued by Bella. It was the only way. She was going to have to come here guns blazing and fucking rescue me like in fucking Blackhawk Down or something.

"Victoria, as much as I would love to stay. I have people waiting for me."

"Of course," she said before covering her face and wailing even louder.

She couldn't see me standing behind her since she was covering her face with her hands while she sobbed. I punched the air a couple times, fighting the unseen force that was trying to ruin my fucking life and then put my hands on her shoulders trying to comfort her in some simple, nonsexual way.

She jumped up from her seat and wrapped her arms around me, throwing her face against my chest. Caught off guard by the hugging I slowly brought my arms limply around her, careful not to touch anywhere but around her waist.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled into my chest.

"Hey, that's what friends are for. We're friends. I'm sorry you're feeling so down," I said as friend-like as I could.

"Please stay and have dinner with me. Please. I can't bear to eat alone. I'll end up crying myself to sleep tonight. I promise I will have you home to your family in an hour. Please?" She said looking up at me with a piece of hair matted against her wet face.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck._

"One hour. I can stay one hour. I'll have a little bit of whatever that is that smells so mouthwatering," I said caving. She again looked up at me with the biggest fucking smile I have ever seen on her face.

"Thank you, Edward. Thank you."

* * *

BPOV

I got home from my crazy day, only to find that the craziness had followed me all the way home. Rosalie was on her phone, pacing around the living room with Lily dangling in her arms. Emmett was also on his phone at the dining room table with his head in his hands. Edward was, of course, not here. I got out late, it was after 6:30 and he was still at Victoria's. We'll see how fast my poor little lamb gets out of the lion's den.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll try to keep that in mind," Emmett said before hanging up his phone.

"No! You listen to me. We need some sort of assurance that our family is going to be fucking protected!" Rosalie was screaming into her phone.

"What the hell is going on?" I said sliding into the chair next to Emmett.

"Aro."

Just the name alone made the bile churn in my stomach and start creeping up my throat.

"What about Aro?" I asked, taking in the very distraught look on Emmett's face.

"He was granted a mistrial today," Emmett answered. He might as well of told me the judge sentenced us all to death. The two seemed mutually exclusive. I found myself with my head in my hands, just like Em.

"A mistrial? On what grounds?"

"Witness tampering. I guess they even got one of the prosecutors to admit to it in court today. Aro was let go and currently is walking around a free man in Seattle right now. Someone finally called me a half hour ago to tell me," he said as he rubbed his eyes.

His big hand slammed down hard on the table, scaring the shit out of me and Lily who began to cry in her mother's arms.

"Sorry baby," Emmett jumped up and took Lily from Rose. Rosalie was still talking to someone but she looked right at me. One look said it all. She was scared out of her fucking mind.

I thought this was all going to be over soon. I thought Aro would go to jail and no one would dare try to take his place. Their organization would just fold and disappear completely. With Aro a free man, there was no hope of that happening. He would have to play it safe for a little while but then he would be back with a vengeance. Vengeance. He would get his vengeance. He would definitely try. Something told me Rosalie and Emmett had a reason to be scared, very scared.

Rosalie hung up her phone and headed straight for me. We hugged for a good minute without speaking. I knew she just needed me to comfort her for a little bit.

"We'll figure this out. We'll keep you safe. Don't worry," I said into her hair. How I was going to do that was beyond me. The only thing I could think of was they needed to leave the country. They needed to move to the other side of the fucking planet. Maybe then Aro would never get his hands on them. Emmett wasn't someone who ran, though. Yet, when I looked at him now, I could tell he was thinking about it. He had Lily pressed tight to his chest and his cheek rubbed on top of her fuzzy little head.

Rosalie let me go and went to Emmett's side. He wrapped one arm around her and they stood huddled together, the perfect little family.

"Just because he got a mistrial doesn't mean they can't retry him. I mean they have to have a shitload of evidence that could put him away. One witness doesn't kill the whole thing. It can't." I said, sitting back down at the table.

"I guess the Prosecutor's office is in a tizzy. This guy that admitted to tampering completely blindsided them. If I was there right now, I would be pulling my shit together because I know we have enough to file charges for crimes that happened just in Seattle. I know they were going for the whole organized crime angle but I know we got shit on him. It's a matter of getting their heads out of their asses. I don't know what's going on. Aro successfully disabled me and now he's out and no one knows what the hell they're doing out there." Emmett shook his head in frustration. Rosalie took Lily from him and sat her down in the bouncy seat with her pacifier. I knew it was killing Emmett not to be in Seattle, working, in charge. He had spent the last year and a half dismantling that organization, brick by fucking brick. Aro was the last man standing, he was only one Emmett wasn't taking on by himself. Of course the federal prosecutors fucked this up.

"They'll snap him up before he can do anything. There's no way he's going to be out for long," I said trying to convince myself and him.

"I hope so, Bells. I hope so. Otherwise," he stopped.

"Otherwise, what?" Rose asked walking back over to him.

"We'll have to go. We'll have to leave Seattle permanently. We might have to go as far as we can go."

I knew that's what he was thinking. Rosalie didn't say anything. She looked at me and I bit my lip. It was my way of saying he was right. She sighed and walked away, towards the kitchen. Emmett sat down next to me again.

I looked at my watch. It was almost seven. Where the hell was Edward?

"Do you want me to call him, so it doesn't look like you don't trust his ass?" Emmett asked with a small smile.

I smiled back, "I trust his ass. I don't trust her ass. I also don't like the idea of him running around at night by himself. God, I sound like his mother, not his wife."

"I don't like the idea of him running around out there either, if it makes you feel any better," Emmett said, his smile fading fast.

I nodded and he picked up his phone again and dialed Edward. I was nervously chewing on my thumbnail.

"Don't be mean," I whispered. He winked at me.

"What the fuck, dude? Your pretty boy ass better be on the way home."

So much for not being mean. I flicked his arm with my fingers. He smiled and shook his head.

"I'm giving you fifteen minutes and if you aren't here then I'm coming to get you. Tell her your brother is in town and you have to go. Tell her right now, so I can hear you. Tell her."

I flicked him again. "Knock it off," I mouthed silently.

He smiled again and waved me off, "Tell her you really have to go because you have to make a quick stop at Walgreens to get your prescription for your erectile dysfunction. Tell her. I'm listening. Don't hang up on me! Fifteen minutes, I'm serious!" he looked at me, "He just hung up on me. Bastard."

"I said don't be mean, you fucker. I don't blame him for hanging up on you," my hand pushed on his big shoulder. He exaggerated how hard I shoved him by leaning way over. We both laughed.

Rosalie came out of the kitchen and I could tell she had been crying. Emmett and I ceased all laughing.

"Dinner will be ready in like twenty minutes," she said sitting down.

"You cooked dinner?" I said in surprise. Rosalie was a lot of things, a cook wasn't one of them.

She looked at me like a was an idiot, "No, I just ordered some Chinese food. They said they'd have it delivered in twenty minutes."

I couldn't help but laugh. If I didn't laugh I was going to start crying. I loved the two of these people. It was bad enough being away from them as much as we already were. Now there was the possibility that they would have to go much further away. Drop off the radar far away. I wanted to get on a plane and find Aro myself, shoot him and be done with all this.

The three of us sat at the table staring at the little space right in front of us. No words, no meaningful looks. We were all trapped inside our own heads for the time being.

* * *

EPOV

"I really got to go, that was my brother. Dinner was so great."

Victoria looked at me disappointed but stood up to clear the table. I had eaten more than I planned to but it was so good. I had stayed longer than I planned to as well. I wondered if Bella had Emmett call or if that was his own doing. It was probably him. Bella would have called herself if she was really worried about it.

"Thank you for staying and having dinner with me. I appreciate it," Victoria said taking her wine glass and filling it up one more time. She must have had three glasses with dinner and who knows how many before. Her eyes were looking heavy and her words were coming out slower and slower.

"Why don't you look at the contact sheet tonight and call me in the morning to let me know which picture you want. I can get it printed for you tomorrow," I said walking to get my jacket.

She followed me into the living room and put her hand on my shoulder.

"I'll do that. Thank you, Edward." She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Oh, what I wouldn't do to be twenty years younger," she brought a finger up and tapped me on the lips, "and for you (tap) to be (tap) single (tap)."

I grabbed her hand and squeezed, really to just stop her from touching me. "It's really only the not being single part that's the problem here, Victoria. Thank you for dinner."

I don't know why I said that but she was such a sad soul and I obviously can't stop my super mojo powers from taking over.

"You're just saying that. Now get out of here before I decide to make Bella come over here and fight me for you," Victoria said, swatting my ass as I walked out the door. I laughed but quickly walked to my car. Badass Bella was a force but drunk and hopeless Victoria was pretty scary. Desperation can make people capable of anything.

I drove home and parked the car in the garage behind our building. As I walked through the dark back alley I suddenly felt like I was being watched. My pulse quickened and I felt the urge to move faster. I looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I kept looking over my shoulder as I walked between our place and the building next to us. When I made it to the front, I looked up as a car drove by. I shook my head, deciding I was imagining things. I blew into my hands that were starting to get cold and that's when saw a man across the street. He was just standing there looking at me, looking at the building. He was wearing a black overcoat and had dark hair from what I could see by the light of the street lights. My heart began beating faster again. I was torn between wanting to cross the street to ask the guy what he was looking at and running to get inside. A little VW bug pulled up and double parked in front of the building. Some guy carrying two big paper bags jumped out and walked past me to the front stoop. I was distracted by him for a second and when I looked back across the street the staring guy was gone. I looked up and down the street but he was nowhere. I headed for the door, convinced I was losing it. Bella opened the door and was handing money to the dude with the bags.

"Thanks," she said to the delivery guy. "Hi," she said to me, holding the door open.

"Hi there yourself, Mrs. Cullen." I kissed her, happy to see her. I tried to shake off my weird feeling. Once inside, I pushed on the door to make sure it was locked. I could smell the Chinese food.

"Rosalie offered to make dinner tonight?" I asked as we ascended the stairs.

Bella laughed, "Yeah."

When we got to our door, she stopped and turned to me. "Before we go in there. You should know something."

_Oh shit._ From the look on her face I could tell is was going to be bad news. Did she want to fight about me being at Victoria's so long? I was ready to explain.

"Aro was granted a mistrial today. He's no longer in jail. Em and Rose are pretty freaked out, so be nice tonight."

I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the ground as soon as she said Aro was no longer in jail. Good thing I was in good shape otherwise it might have gone into arrest because my heart rate jumped to a whole new high. I looked down the stairwell. That guy out there. He was bad and I bet he was the guy that was following Rosalie earlier. Aro was out and they were coming to kill us all. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest. It was hard to breathe and I realized I couldn't hear anything. Bella looked concerned and her mouth was moving but I couldn't hear a damn word she was saying. My forehead was damp with sweat but my mouth became dry like a desert. It was like I had sandpaper on my tongue. Maybe I was going into cardiac arrest. The next thing I knew I was staring up at the ceiling of our condo and Bella and Emmett were looking down on me.

"I think he's coming back around," Bella said.

"You didn't throw any tennis balls at him did you, Bells?" Rosalie's voice came from somewhere else.

_Bitch._

"Baby, are you ok? Can you hear me?" Bella said, her voice full of worry and concern.

"Tell Rosalie to bite me."

"Yep, he's ok," Emmett grinned holding out his hand in an effort to help me up off the ground.

"Why aren't you guys packing and calling Howard to gas up the fucking Hale jet? We all need to get the fuck out of here!" I said, taking in the scene. Bella and Emmett were just standing there looking at me while Rosalie was sitting at the dining room table eating out of a crushed Chinese take out container.

"We're not going anywhere. You need to sit down and drink this," Bella said shoving a bottle of water at me.

"Bella, I saw the guy. The guy that Rosalie saw. He was outside, across the street. Well, he was and then he wasn't. He was standing there staring at me and then I looked away and then he was gone. He was out there and Aro is out of jail and he must want to kill Emmett. They know we're all here and they're going to kill us! We should go!" I said walking back to the bedroom to pack my stuff. Unfortunately, my legs had other ideas and they almost completely buckled. I grabbed onto the couch for support.

"Edward, sit the hell down. Jesus!" Emmett shoved me down on the couch.

"Honey, you fainted in the hall. You hit your head. Can you please just sit a second and drink this water? Are you sure you saw someone? Maybe you aren't remembering things right. You hit your head pretty hard," Bella sat next to me and ran her hand across my forehead and down my cheek. It was the best thing I've felt all day. I leaned my face into her hand and closed my eyes for a second, enjoying the feel of her touch.

"He couldn't have hit it that hard since he landed on my dinner!" Rosalie shouted from the table.

Bella rolled her eyes and then smiled at me. I took a drink of the water she gave me and tried to think clearly. My head did kind of hurt. Did I dream up the guy outside? I got back from Victoria's, walked to the front of the building, saw the guy across the street. No, he was real. I didn't make him up.

"I saw him. Tall, brown hair, black overcoat. He was right across the street, looking at the building."

Rosalie stopped chewing and set her chopsticks down. She pushed away from the table and walked into the living room.

"Em, we should think about leaving. It's not right putting Bella and Edward in danger."

"You guys are not leaving right now. Everybody relax," Bella sighed and put her hand on my bouncing knee.

"We're going to take a couple days, see if they rearrest Aro. We'll try to get through Thanksgiving. Have a nice family holiday and then if things don't look any better, we'll go," Emmett said decisively as he took Rose's hand and kissed it.

I swallowed hard. I had a feeling he meant they would go and never come back. Thanksgiving could be the last holiday we celebrate together for a very long time.

**A/N: Oh we got trouble! Aro's out, this is not good. We've had our fun now we're headed into the rough stuff. I decided this week someone has to die. I changed my mind a couple times about who it should be but at least one character (besides Angela) will bite it. **


	22. Chapter 22 Jenks and Jerks

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Things are picking up, lots of excitement in the next couple chapters. Starting to wrap some things up. Thanks for reviewing and reading. It makes this all the more fun. No one dies in this chapter...but I am taking requests. ;)**

BPOV

Today we were going to bring Jenks in. We had evidence that proved he had attempted to clean up blood in his bedroom. We had the emails between him and Angela. We had Emily putting them together on several occasions. It wasn't a lot but he was going to fill in the blanks. We went to pick him up at work. His little secretary looked more nervous this time as she buzzed him about our arrival. Jenks came willingly, not wanting to make a scene.

"Maria, cancel all my appointments today and uh, hold down the fort," he said to his secretary on the way out.

Maria looked like she wanted to leap over her desk and hug him.

"Yes, Mr. Jenks. You know I'll take care of everything for you," she responded in this weird voice.

We should interview her if we didn't get what we needed out of Jenks. I bet she knows way more about his little extra-curricular activities than she was letting on to the last time we talked to her.

Once we made it to the station, we explained we just wanted to ask few questions.

"Well, go ahead and ask. I mean you already tore up my house, took my computer, and caused my neighbors and now my co-workers to think that I'm some sort of criminal. Let's get this over with!" he said indignantly.

"Mr. Jenks, I understand you've been through quite a lot recently. We'll try to get through this as fast as possible," I said without much sincerity.

"Why the big redecorating kick in the bedroom?" James began. We sat on one side of the interview table, while Jenks sat on the other.

Jenks shook his head and tried to not look surprised. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Mr. Jenks. My lovely partner here has the patience of a fucking saint. She puts up with me and my bullshit every day. Me, on the other hand, I have very little patience for other people's bullshit. In fact, I hate bullshit. I despise bullshit," James leaned forward, his hands folded in front of him on the table.

Jenks shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Mr. Jenks," I smiled. I guess I was going to be good cop to James' bad. "We are aware that you purchased new bedding for your bedroom the day after Angela Cheney went missing. You also had your carpets cleaned that day. Is that correct?"

"I didn't know it had become a crime in the city of Chicago to buy a new duvet and have your carpets cleaned once a year," he answered snidely.

"When was the last time you saw Angela Cheney, Mr. Jenks?" James asked, annoyed.

"I think I already told you that when you talked to me the last time, Detective."

"Well, refresh our memory, Jenks. When was the last time you saw her?" James said angrily.

"The last time I saw her was at the gym. I don't know what day it was. Like I told you before we saw each other at the gym sometimes. That was it."

"What if I told you we have a witness that puts you two together outside of the gym. Someone who saw you on multiple occasions near your home?" I asked, a little annoyed myself.

Jenks looked down at his hands and pursed his lips. "We might have got some coffee a couple times. I don't know. I see a lot of different women. Angela was nothing but a gym buddy." He looked at me. His expression was sad, regretful. It confused me but intrigued me at the same time.

"You liked her, didn't you? You liked her as a person, as a friend?"

"Of course I did," he replied as if I had insinuated the opposite.

"What's not to like? She's a beautiful, smart woman. She's interesting, adventurous. She had a lot of friends, a lot of people who really cared about her. Maybe she's been unhappy in her marriage and you and her just connected. Connected in a way that neither one of you expected. I could understand that. It happens all the time," I hypothesized, trying to get him to tell me what their relationship was about. Something shifted inside of Jenks when I described Angela. The expression on his face changed. It changed again when I went on about her being unhappy.

"Were you and Mrs. Cheney having an affair?" I asked plainly.

Jenks smiled at his own private joke or something, "Angela loved her husband very much. We were not having an affair."

"So you and your 'gym buddy' discussed her relationship with her husband? What else did you and Mrs. Cheney talk about?" James jumped in.

Jenks looked around nervously. He rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Are you two planning on charging me with something? Because if you are I would like to know so I can call a lawyer."

"Do you want to call a lawyer, Mr. Jenks?" I asked. James bumped me with his leg under the table. Sorry one of us likes to follow the rules.

"Do I need a lawyer, are you charging me with something?"

"Why was there blood in your bedroom? You had your carpets cleaned but blood leaves traces. Care to explain?" James threw at him.

"I want a lawyer."

____________

"Damn it, Izzy! Why'd you ask him if he wanted a lawyer?" James shouted at me after Jenks and his newly hired attorney left the precinct.

"Because I like to follow the rules, Duncan. The rules are there for a reason."

"Rules my ass. We can question him until he asks specifically for a lawyer. He didn't ask for one, he asked if he needed one. You didn't have to ask him the question and make him say it," he fumed.

"Did you notice how his face changed when I talked about Angela? Did you see how he smiled at the thought of having an affair with her?" My mind had been working overtime since our interview ended. "We're missing something."

"Yeah, we're missing a bunch of things. The fucking body, the murder weapon, a damn confession," he said shaking his head in frustration.

I sighed, there was no point in arguing with him right now. He was mad at me and he was just going to have to work that out himself. He fussed at his desk for a few minutes. He messed with some files, typed something on his computer, shuffled things on his desk. I would glance up at him every so often. I tried really hard not to laugh but it was kind of fun to see him frustrated.

"What did you see?" he asked after sharpening his fourth pencil.

"I don't think they were having an affair. I don't know. Something in his eyes changed. I think he liked her but I don't think she felt the same way about him. I think it made him sad."

"You got all that from his eyes?"

"His whole face softened at the idea of having an affair with her. He was so defensive before that, if he was having an affair he would have felt the need to be defensive about that as well, right? I mean he should have kept up the same bullshit denial. He denied the affair but he didn't look like he was covering up a lie but instead admitting a disappointing truth."

James leaned back in his chair contemplating my new theory.

"So he killed her because he was in love with her and she wasn't in love with him," James said, it was more of a question than a comment.

"I don't know. We need to talk to him again. Lawyer or no lawyer. I think he really cared about her. I think their relationship was something else. I don't know what but I think when we figure that out we'll be closer to what happened. He knows she's not alive, he referred to her in the past tense."

"I noticed that, too," he said solemnly.

"Could he kill someone he loved just because she was in love with her husband, a husband he knew she was happily married to?" I shrugged not knowing the answer to my own question or if I was even asking the right question for this case.

James just stared at me. He looked like he wasn't even breathing. He put both hands on his head. It seemed like he wanted to say something but he couldn't make the words comes out. That sadness from yesterday was back.

"Are you ok?" I asked, tilting my head a little and waving a hand in front of me to break his stare.

"I-" he stopped himself. "Never mind," he stood up and walked towards the bathroom. Sometimes he was so weird. One minute he's the funny guy, then he's pissed, recently he's been switching into a lost little puppy. I never knew what to expect from him. He could come back from the bathroom and make some joke about Jared staring at him when they were side by side at the urinals. Who knew what I would get when he came back.

We had sent Brady and Stefan to keep an eye on Jenks. We wanted to see where he went, see who he talked to. I texted them to get an update. According to Brady, Jenks went back to the office. No news.

After all the excitement of last night - Aro's release, Edward's fainting, the possibility that we were being watched, and Emmett's declaration that they might leave for good after Thanksgiving - I was feeling like I needed to spend some time today figuring out how to clear Emmett's name and get him back to work. If he hadn't been put on leave and was in the DA's office right now, he would have had Aro rearrested already. Looking into Riley Cummins was all I could think to do. I had the best intentions of doing this earlier in the week but got distracted. Today I was going to do some snooping. Emmett's private investigator was gathering information and was going to send us his findings as soon as possible. I decided I would put Google to the test. The first few hits were Facebook pages, none of which actually belonged to the Riley Cummins I was looking for. Then there were a bunch of links to sites that had Riley and Cummins in there but not together. I added Seattle to the search and immediately the articles about his death popped up. I scanned through those. He was originally from Portland, had a big family. Nothing I didn't really know already. I changed Seattle to Portland in the search. Now I got the same links to reports on his death but also a couple hits that weren't in the last search. There was a link to his high school website. He held a few wrestling records. I was clicking away when I noticed James was back at his desk.

"Jenks went back to work. I told Brady to radio in when he leaves. Do you want to go over there and question the secretary?" I asked, acting like he hadn't disappeared like a freak a few minutes ago.

"Why the secretary? What the hell is she going to tell us?" he looked confused. I noticed the collar of his shirt was a little wet. His face looked a little pale. I wondered if he had been splashing his face with water in the bathroom. Maybe he wasn't feeling well. Maybe he was sick or something. That could explain the weird ass behavior.

"She seemed different today. More uptight, more worried. She also looked at Jenks like she was in love with him."

"Shit, I don't think I can deal with any more unrequited love today," he said sounding so honest and rubbing his face with his hands. He looked drained. I was going with the sick theory. Maybe he should go home or something. Take a day.

"I just thought maybe she would give us something if we pushed her a little. Made it about getting to the truth to help Jenks. She might bury him thinking she's doing him a favor."

"Whatever you want to do, Izzy. I'll follow you wherever you want to go."

"Are you ok? You don't look so good."

"Well, I'm not your little Eddie. We can't all look perfect all the time." He made a face when he mentioned Edward. This was really getting old.

"Why the need to bring him into this every time I show concern for you? I don't get it. You look sick. I was asking to see if you wanted to maybe call it a day, maybe go home and get some rest. But for some reason you feel the need to insult my husband. It's annoying as shit and so uncalled for." I unloaded on him, quietly. I didn't need Garrett to notice we were fight, especially because we were fighting about Edward again. It could lead to Garrett and Peter being more worried than they already were. James rubbed his eyes with his hands and leaned way back in his chair.

"I'm an asshole, Iz. I thought we established that." He sighed loudly. I wasn't going to disagree. "I'm pissed at you for convincing Jenks to lawyer up. Mentioning CK gets you the most mad, so," he shook his head and leaned forward.

That was as close to an apology as I was going to get. I turned off my computer monitor and grabbed my jacket from the coat rack near my desk.

"Let's go. You can apologize by buying me lunch today on our way to talk to the secretary."

James was nervously checking his phone all through lunch. I decided it was time to try and crack this guy open a little. He had thoroughly interrogated me over the last couple weeks, time for me to find out more about him, if he'd let me.

"Do you miss Portland?" I asked after taking a drink of my Coke.

He looked surprised at my question. He had been scrolling through the messages on his phone but shoved it back in his pocket when he realized I was actually going to talk to him.

"Sometimes," he answered warily.

"Does your family live out there?"

"Yes,"

Obviously he wasn't going to be very forthcoming without a shitload of prompting. "Do you have a big family?"

He took a long drag on his drink, eyeing me the whole time. "What's with all the questions? You suddenly feel the need to know where I came from?"

"Just trying to get to know you better. You asked me all the same questions," I reminded him.

"What do you really want to know? Why am I such a jerk? Did my dad beat me growing up? Was my mom a crack whore or something? Is that why I'm such a bastard?" I would have thought he was angry if he hadn't been wearing this playful grin on his face. This guy was such an enigma some times.

"I was going to guess military father, overly passive mother, actually. You're general lack of respect seems to come from a little bit of rebellion and a little learned behavior."

He laughed, "You want to psychologically dissect me? Figure I have some deep dark secrets that will reveal some softer, gentler me? Maybe you can rescue me? I bet CK has some sad little story. Neglectful parents, got all the material stuff but not enough attention and affection? You probably love being the one to save him."

"Again, right to Edward. I'm starting to think your crush is on him," I don't know why I said that. I made it sound like I thought he had a crush on me. I really didn't want to believe that. I wanted to believe he was just someone who loved making me mad. His eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"I just love the way your cheeks get all fucking pink whenever I mention him. It's my selfish nature taking over."

This guy was unbelievable. He was always trying to disarm me with his stupid comments. He bet other women ate this shit up, it just irked me. "Don't flirt. It's pathetic. I'm just trying to understand you, James. We're partners. I need to want to have your back should we ever get into something out there. Right now, I think I would let anyone who wanted a shot at you have one. Or ten."

He laughed at my joke.

I continued seriously, "We need to have a little trust and respect for this to work. I'd like to know that you have my back as well."

His eyes turned color, from ice blue to a dark, misty blue. He leaned forward and looked around like he was making sure no one else was listening.

"I'll never let anybody hurt you, Izzy. You can trust that," he said jamming his pointer fingering into the table between us.

"Good to know," I said trying not to react to the seriousness of his tone. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Both of us eating our lunch and looking anywhere but at each other.

"So, you got a big family or what?" I finally said, once I finished eating.

"Only child, just like you," he answered calmly, the intensity of his prior statement gone.

"Was I right about your parents?"

"My mom raised me by herself most of my life. My parents divorced when I was really young. I saw my dad on weekends and some holidays in the beginning. He remarried and had another family. Once that happened our time became less and less. My mom worked hard. She was no 'overly passive' mother, that's for sure. She's the only woman I have ever been afraid of, until you," he said, smiling to himself.

_Until me?_ What the hell did that mean? Why would he be afraid of me? I tried to control my expression.

"Was she disappointed that you moved to Chicago?" I asked, trying to stay on the topic of him not me.

I could tell it made him uncomfortable to talk about his mom. There was so much more to his story but he was keeping everything brief, "She didn't say anything about it. That's not her - style."

"Why Chicago? What brought you here?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Going for it all today, huh, Iz?"

"Just making conversation, Jimmy," I said trying to act like I wasn't as anxious to know the answer as I really was.

"What if I said I came for you?"

_Idiot._ I should have figured he would go with the stupid flirtatious answer. I looked at him with obvious annoyance.

"You wouldn't believe me?" he smirked.

"Let's go, I want to see Jenks' face when we take his secretary somewhere to question her," I said with a sigh, getting up and gathering our garbage on my tray.

When we pulled into the parking lot of Jenks' office, I noticed Brady and Stefan were both sitting in their car staring at their phones. As I got closer to the car, I could see that they were both either playing games or watching movies, some bullshit like that.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said to myself as I approached the car. I banged on the window of the driver's side scaring the living daylights out of both of them. Brady rolled the window down.

"What the fuck, Cullen? You trying to give us a fucking heart attack?"

"Nice fucking surveillance, dumbass. Are you sure Jenks is even in the building? You two seemed a little distracted by your fucking iPhones and shit to notice me. Do I need to tell Captain that you two can't handle field work?" I was livid. I send them on a simple task and they can't even handle that. These guys were young and a product of the times. Technology was the best and the worst thing that ever happened to productivity in the workplace.

"Shit, no. We're watching. His car is right over there," Brady pointed to a white Audi. "He hasn't gone anywhere."

"You better hope not, shithead," James said from behind me.

"What are you two doing here anyways?" Stefan asked from the other seat.

"We're coming to talk to his secretary. Can you try and pay attention from now on. Make sure he doesn't leave the building while we're in there?" I answered and asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Brady said as he saluted me with two fingers.

"Don't fucking talk to her like that. She rightly called you out on being a fuck up. Don't be a smart ass on top of it," James said, reaching in the car and flicking Brady in the head.

I was surprised by his defense of me. He was usually the one making the smart ass comments. I couldn't believe he would tell someone else to show me a little more respect.

"Sorry," Brady huffed.

"Come on, Iz. Let's see if you're right or wrong. I'm going with wrong but chicks always need to see it to believe it."

I rolled my eyes. One moment he's demanding Brady show me some respect and the next he's being a disrespectful ass.

When we got inside and up to Jenks' office I knew we were screwed right away. Maria, his secretary was nowhere to be seen and Jenks' office looked dark. We grabbed someone nearby who informed us that she thought they both had left about thirty minutes ago. I headed out to the parking lot ready to kill. James grabbed my arm before I got to the car.

"Izzy, don't go postal on their asses. Let's just leave them here. Tell them they can't leave until he comes out of the building. They'll be here forever. It'll serve them right."

He was right. As much as I wanted to scream at them and kick both their asses. It would be worse for them to sit in the car all night long, freezing their asses off.

I didn't have to get their attention this time. Brady rolled down his window as we approached.

"You guys need to stay here until he comes out. Don't you dare leave until he comes out. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah, no problem," Brady nodded.

"And shut the damn car off, you're wasting gas. It's not that cold out here," James demanded, knowing damn well it was fucking freezing today.

"Call us the second he leaves," I said trying to sound really serious.

They agreed to do just as we said. Walking to our car I couldn't help but smile. I knew Brady and Stefan were in for a long day and night. Served them right.

"Good call," I said to James as we got in the car.

"They should pay for their stupidity. Where are we headed?"

"We need to find Mr. Jenks and Miss Sanchez. Pronto."


	23. Chapter 23 Closing the Case

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Time to find out what happened to Angela...**

BPOV

We called into dispatch and asked them to look up info on Maria Sanchez while we drove to Jenks' to see if they went there first. No one was at Jenks'. James and I walked around the whole outside of the house, looking in windows.

"I think I heard someone yell for help, what about you, Iz?" James asked, knowing he didn't hear anything but with reasonable cause we could go in the house and check things out.

"I think you're right, plus it looks like someone broke the window by this back door," I said pulling my hand into my jacket and breaking the glass.

James smiled, "God, I love you, Izzy."

Ignoring that comment we called it in as a possible B and E and let ourselves in. Nothing looked out of the ordinary downstairs but upstairs it was evident that Jenks had been home. His room was messed up. It appeared he had quickly packed up some clothes and took everything he thought he would need for an "extended vacation".

"Shit!" I said making my way back down the stairs, almost running James over as we met on the stairs. "We need to get to Maria's, now!"

Damn Brady and Stefan! Jenks had taken off and had at least a half hour on us. I radioed in that I needed a patrol car to head to Maria's address in hopes that they could get to them before us and before they could leave if they were still there. I called Garrett, explaining that it looked like Jenks was running for it. I had him check to see if we could look into how perhaps both Jenks and Maria would get out of town assuming that was their objective. I wasn't sure if Maria was just aiding and abetting or was going with him.

The patrol car that went to Maria's radioed in that a car was pulling out just as they arrived and was wondering if they should pursue. I had them follow but at a distance so they didn't freak them out and start a chase. They were headed east on Fullerton towards the Expressway. We were close to the Kennedy, we could get on at Armitage, just south of where they were. I was hoping they were headed out of town.

"Airport?" James asked, thinking the same thing I was thinking. It was our only hope. We really didn't have grounds to arrest him but I couldn't let Jenks up and leave. Something told me he wasn't planning on coming back. I headed towards O'Hare, with patrol telling us we were headed in the right direction.

James called Garrett and had him contact O'Hare security to inform them of our arrival and our need to find two potential passengers.

Patrol let us know that Maria and Jenks had driven into short term parking. Jenks had exited the car already and was headed to the elevators that would take him to Terminal 3. We parked the car in the departures area and flashed our badges at the security guy who immediately was asking us to move. We went to find them where the short term parking elevators exited to the ticketing area.

We didn't see Jenks. James and I spread out. The airport was crowded as usual. There were business people, families, people who looked like they were going somewhere warm, others who looked frazzled at the prospect of flying. Then I saw Maria. She was walking into the women's bathroom. I radioed James and told him where I was headed and to be on the lookout for Jenks. They had to both be here. I made my way in and there was one woman washing her hands and two stalls with the doors closed all the way. I flashed my badge and motioned for the woman washing her hands to move it along. Another woman came in and I flashed my badge and pointed for her to go out.

The first stall door opened and a woman who was not Maria came out. I again showed her my badge and put my finger to my lips, asking her to remain quiet and to go. She didn't hesitate. Once the bathroom was clear except for the one closed door, I made may way towards it.

"Maria Sanchez?" I called out. The room got deadly silent.

"Maria Sanchez, this is Detective Cullen with the Chicago Police Department. I need you to come out. I'd only like to talk to you. If you come with me, there should be no problem and you will be on your way in no time."

She remained quiet. Then I heard some shuffling in a purse maybe. Then I distinctly heard the sound of a gun being cocked. Jesus, was she on a suicide mission? I pulled out my gun and took a safe position away from the door.

"Maria, if you have a weapon, I need you to slide it carefully under the door and then come out with your hands up. We only need to talk for a few minutes, nothing bad has to happen. If you come out of there thinking you're going to be able to take on me, my partner, and the entire security team of O'Hare Airport, you are going to be sorely mistaken. I don't want to see anyone hurt. So, please open the door, show me your hands, and come on out."

"Jason is innocent and you are trying to arrest him for something he didn't do!" she finally said.

At least I had her talking.

"If we were going to arrest Mr. Jenks we would have done so, Maria. We just want to talk to you and him one more time."

"You're a liar! You know that bitch was there. That damn tease! You know her blood is in his bedroom!" she shouted. Aha, she's admitting it was Angela's blood. Now I just need to get her out here.

Another woman walked in and saw me with my gun. She froze and stared at me wide-eyed.

"Ma'am," I said pointing at the door for her to go.

I grabbed my radio and called James, "Code 30, we got a 417." He needed to know I needed some fucking backup immediately because there was a woman with a gun. I could hear some commotion outside. Security must have been alerted to our presence, mine in particular since I was holding the gun everyone could see.

"On my way," James' voice came from the radio.

A security guard called in, "O'Hare security, I need you to come out with your hands up."

"This is Detective Bella Cullen from the Chicago Police Department. We have a 417. My partner, James Duncan is on his way. My commanding officer is Captain Horan, out of District 19. You can call him and he will verify that we are here but someone should have called in and let you guys know we were coming. I'm going to step towards the exit so you can see me," I said moving towards them. I held my badge in one hand and kept my gun pointed towards the stall where Maria was hiding.

The security officer, who identified himself as Officer Johnson, saw my badge and lowered his weapon. He was talking into his own walkie talkie. They were confirming for him that James and I were who we said we were. It looked like they had been hard at work clearing the area and had the bathroom surrounded. James came running up and quickly identified himself. Surprisingly, there was Jenks following him.

I gave James a WTF look.

"He walked up to me and said he wanted to turn himself in," he said with a shrug. "Says it was Maria. That she killed Angela and he helped cover it up."

I shook my head in disbelief. He let us chase him here and then he just turns himself in. Why couldn't he have just done that this morning?

"Maria, Jason is out here. He really wants you to come out and come talk to us. I am sure we can sort this whole thing out with no one getting hurt," I said moving back into the restroom.

"Jason! Run, baby! I'll be ok!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. This girl was a nut. She obviously had no idea that Jenks just sold her down the river.

"Jason isn't running Maria. You should come out."

James came in and motioned that he was going to move to the other side of the stall. He had his gun in his hand and moved cautiously past the door.

"There are a lot of police out here, Maria. I don't want you to do anything that's going to get you in more trouble. I need you to open the door and come out."

"She deserved what she got. She was leading him on all that time. He was so confused. He loves me, though. He does. He wanted me and then she confused him. She was trying to get him to not love me."

James looked at me and rolled his eyes. Real sympathetic.

"I understand, Maria. I know there is probably a very good explanation for what happened. I want you to tell me but I really don't think we should talk in the bathroom. I think we should go somewhere I can see you and you can see me, somewhere you'll be safe," I tried to convince her.

James got my attention and mouthed, "I'll kick the door in, you grab her."

I shook my head no.

He mouthed again, "You kick the door in and I'll grab her."

I shook my head again. We weren't going to be able to get her by kicking the door in. She needed to come out on her own. That was the safest way.

"She was in his room. She wanted him to want her. She was making him think she was going to sleep with him. He thought that was what he wanted because she tricked him but he really wanted to be with me. I always took care of him. I always was watching out for him. He told me he wasn't feeling well so I brought him some chicken soup when I got off work. She was there and she was telling him to stop. He was so confused, that's why he was trying to kiss her. She had tricked him. I had to stop her from hurting him. So, I stabbed her. It had to be done, can't you see?"

_Holy Confession City, Batman. _ Poor Angela. I don't know what the hell she was doing with Jenks but what a shame she befriended the guy with the fucking psycho stalker secretary.

"I hear you loud and clear, Maria. If you just come with us and write that all down, we will help everyone see how you were trying to help him. Why don't you slide your weapon under the door and come on out."

Two things happened at the same time, Officer Johnson walked into the bathroom holding a can of tear gas silently offering it up for us to use and Maria slid her purse under the door, in front of James. James bent down to look in the purse for the gun while I turned my attention to Officer Johnson to let him know we were good. While we were both distracted for that one moment, Maria opened the door and I saw her with the gun in her hand pointed right at James' head as he knelt in front of her looking for something that wasn't there.

My body reacted out of instinct and I was moving towards Maria at lightning speed. I grabbed her arm and lifted it up at the same time she pulled the trigger. James crouched down further, flinching at the sound of the bullet shooting above his head and then popped up as I disarmed Maria and slammed her on the cold tile floor.

"Maria, killing Angela Cheney was one thing but shooting at my partner puts you on my shit list. Now, we can't be friends," I said pulling her arms behind her and securing her in handcuffs.

James rubbed his face with his hand and then nodded at me in wordless acknowledgement that I just saved his ass.

It was late when we made it back to the station to file our paperwork. Garrett and Jared were there, wearing big smiles.

"Oh man, you guys pissed off so many people today! How's it feel to be the ones that shut fucking O'Hare down for a few hours? Don't expect American Airlines to offer up their friendly skies to you two anytime soon," Jared said patting James on the back as we walked in.

"Yeah, we can thank Brady and Stefan for that one. Speaking of Dumb and Dumber, anybody heard from them lately?" I asked, looking to Garrett.

"They checked in a few minutes ago. Said Jenks is still inside and wanted to know how long it would be before someone could relieve them. I told them we didn't have anyone that could take over for them right now. They sounded pretty unhappy about that."

"Good," I smiled. Those two assholes needed to sit in their damn car for as long as possible. "I ignored all their calls. I figured they'd start bothering you. Thanks for playing along."

"No problem, Bells. Good job today," Garrett smiled.

As I sat at my desk, I realized I had one very important conversation left to go tonight. Ben Cheney was going to find out his wife was dead. It was not something I was looking forward to telling him. My assumption that the fluff she wrote about could not be what got her killed was sadly incorrect. According to Jenks, Angela was doing a big exposé on internet dating and had asked him to be her man on the inside, her big secret spy. She had him join a bunch of dating sites and then he would meet with her every couple days at the gym or for coffee to talk about the dates he went on and the women he met. Jenks admitted that at first it was just a fun working relationship but then his feelings started to change. He realized that the best part of the whole experience was meeting with Angela to talk after the stupid dates. He fell in love with her, even though he knew she was married. He had planned to tell her that Friday that he didn't want to date anyone else anymore, that he had fallen for someone and that someone was her. He didn't know what she would say, she had never offered anything but friendship but he felt like he needed to try. She came over under the impression that she was going to help him get ready and then follow along and observe him and his date at dinner. This was why she told her husband she would be late. Jenks brought her into the bedroom to have her help him pick out a tie and while she was helping him put it on he leaned in for a kiss, catching her off guard. Angela explained that she was a very happily married woman. Jenks admitted that he wanted so badly for her to see that they had this really great connection. He didn't know her husband, but he believed he was more perfect for her than her husband was. They argued a little back and forth and he admitted to trying to kiss her one more time. That was when Maria walked in. Jenks had no idea that Maria was obsessed with him. She had let herself into his house, thinking he was sick. She was there to bring him some chicken noodle soup and nurse him back to health. She heard them arguing and she was raging mad. Maria knew of Angela. Angela had called the office a few times and had met with Jenks there once or twice. She had seen the way he looked at her and even though he explained their relationship as business in nature, Maria knew there was something more. Maria blamed Angela for getting in the way of her being with Jenks. She had grabbed a letter opener off the table in the entryway and, after throwing the soup at Jenks, stabbed Angela with the letter opener several times. Jenks claimed he was so shocked by what was happening he didn't even know how to stop her. Maria was a crazed lunatic and he didn't know what she was capable of. After she killed Angela she was freakishly calm and told him what to do. Together they cleaned up the mess, wrapped up the body in his dining room rug, and stuffed it in the trunk of Maria's car. She went with him to buy new bedding, she got rid of the body by herself, and acted like nothing ever happened the following week at work. Jenks on the other hand was a mess. He claimed he could barely step foot in his bedroom since that night. In fact, he didn't even like going upstairs. He had nightmares every night and was in shock for several days. Maria was totally calm and in control, he just followed her lead because he was so distraught he couldn't function on his own. He went back to work and tried to act like everything was normal. He knew that once we started connecting the dots, he was screwed. Maria had convinced him they should run away together. She told him she could help him hide in Texas, she had family there that would help them. That's where they were headed today until Jenks saw James at the airport. As soon as he saw James, he decided he just wanted it all to be over. He didn't want to be trapped in Texas with a cold-blooded killer his whole life. He ran up to James like he was his saving grace.

It was a wild story but one that pretty much matched what Crazy Maria had spouted off in the bathroom. James and I didn't speak much after everything happened. We had driven back to the station in silence. We were now sitting at our desks both taking care of different things.

"I have to stop by Mr. Cheney's tonight," I said, feeling depressed at the idea.

"Do you want me to do it?" James asked.

"I'll do it. We've had the best rapport throughout this whole thing. I think he would want to hear it from me."

"Whatever you think, Izzy. I'll go with you if you want," he said sincerely.

"No, I'll just stop on my way home," I declined. "I'm glad you were wrong, that it wasn't the loving husband."

"It wasn't the other guy who was in love with her either," he said like he was proving some point.

"Yeah, but how much could he really love her if he just let someone kill her right in front of him? He was in shock or whatever but he helped Maria wrap the body up instead of calling for some fucking help. If he really loved her he would have tried to save her."

James nodded, looking away from me. Whatever I said caused him to fold into himself again. We worked in silence, finishing up what we needed to do. We were the only ones in the office by the time we were done.

"I'm not going to forget what you did today," James said, putting on his jacket. "You saved my life, Izzy B."

"That's what partners are for, right?" I said, shrugging it off.

"Well, only a few hours before that you were willing to let anyone who wanted a shot have one, or was it ten?" he said closing one eye and looking like he was trying hard to remember.

I smiled and let out a little laugh, "Damn it, I totally forgot about that." I snapped my fingers like I was out of luck, "Maria could have saved me so much future grief!"

His gaze fell to his feet and he scratched his head.

"I'm kidding," I assured him. "I didn't do anything you wouldn't do for me, right? We got each other's back."

He swallowed hard. His eyes flew up to mine and he looked so damn sad again. He was so impossible to understand.

"I got your back, Izzy. I won't let _anything_ happen to you."

The way he said it made my arms fill up with goosebumps.

"Good," I said nervously clearing my throat. "I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow." I patted him on the shoulder as I walked by.

Talking to Ben was harder than I thought. It had been a long day and I was coming down off my adrenaline rush. Even though I suspect he knew all along that we weren't going to find her alive, hearing that she was actually dead was a shock for him. He sat on his couch with his head in his hands, sobbing something fierce. I couldn't help shedding a few tears myself. I was glad for one thing, I got to tell him his wife loved him. The solid marriage he thought they had was the real deal. She was not unfaithful, she was not a cheat. It would have been a million times worse if that had been the case.

I went home feeling the weight of what had gone on today. It was late, almost nine when I walked in the door. I had texted Edward from the airport, letting him know if he watched the news that all the commotion at O'Hare was because of me. He had texted later that Rosalie and Emmett were getting cabin fever and all four of them were going to Victoria's gallery to drop off the picture of Victoria and her grandmother. Still, I was surprised when I entered a dark condo. I didn't expect them to all be gone this late. Suddenly, I felt afraid, afraid that they had gone out and someone caught up with them. I called Edward while standing in the dark room, not even bothering to take the time to flip the lights on.

"Hey, are you home?" Edward's voice asked casually.

"Yeah, where the hell are you guys?"

"Emmett, Lily, and I are, um, down at the police station on Wood Street." I could hear the smirk on his face.

"What the hell are you doing at the police station on Wood Street?"

"Rosalie kind of punched Victoria and then resisted arrest. We're trying to bail her out."

A smile broke across my face. Immediately, my night seemed better. My phone beeped, I had another call.

"Hold on a second, Edward." I clicked to the other call that was coming from Brady.

"What's up?" I asked, acting like they might have some news.

"Cullen, this guy ain't coming out. His is the only car in the lot. Either he's spending the night or something's wrong," Brady complained.

"What could be wrong?"

"I don't know. We're both just really tired of sitting here. Can't someone come and relieve us? We've been sitting here for almost 12 hours," he was practically whining.

"Stefan's phone still work?"

"Yeah,"

"Tell him to go to Channel 5's website," I suggested trying not to let my voice give anything away.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Brady told Stefan to do what I told him.

"Ok, now what?"

"What's the top story?" I asked even though I knew.

He asked Stefan, who after a minute started swearing. I tried to hold in my laughter.

"Cullen, you fucking bitch. Have we been fucking sitting out here this whole time for nothing?" Brady yelled into the phone.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You fucking got the entire American Airlines terminal shut down? Jenks has been in custody all afternoon?" he repeated what Stefan was reading off his phone.

"Did I forget to call you guys and tell you?" I feigned innocence.

"We're getting overtime for this bullshit."

"You think Captain's going to give you two overtime when you fucking missed your mark leaving the building because you were too busy on your phones? I wouldn't suggest it."

"Fuck!" I could hear him banging on the steering wheel. "Good night, Cullen. You and Duncan better watch your fucking backs!"

"Not a problem, we're getting good at that. Good night, boys!" I said cheerfully.

Actually, my night was getting much better.

**A/N: Did you guess it was Maria? Some of you are much too smart for me. As hard as I try to be tricky. I apologize for any hopes that were raised during this chapter that James would get shot or better yet, killed. I really do believe Edward wants to do the honors. We'll have to wait and see! As always, let me know what you think!! If you're kind with the reviews I'll let you know why Rose punched Victoria! Oh man, I have sunk to bribery. Sorry =)**


	24. Chapter 24 The Punch

**A/N: Here's the moment we've all been waiting for...**

EPOV

The taxi ride from the police station was so painfully quiet, I couldn't wait to get home. As much as I wanted to tease the shit out of Rosalie, I knew for my own safety's sake it was better to keep my mouth shut. Rosalie was pissed off at the police, Emmett was angry with her for her lack of self-control, and I should have been mad - seeing that Rosalie probably cost me the job with Victoria.

Emmett and Rose sat in the backseat separated by Lily, who was thankfully fast asleep in the carseat. This wasn't the case the first hour we were at the police station. Back then, Lily was tired, cranky, and wanted her mom. The fact that Rosalie was in a holding cell did not help matters. Emmett tried to throw his legal weight around but it wasn't getting him very far. Rosalie hadn't done herself any favors with the police and they were going to make her sweat it out as long as possible. I was stuck with Lily, singing Lady GaGa as quietly as possible so no one but Lily could hear.

Rosalie probably would have spent the night there, if it weren't for me. One of the female officers at the station recognized me from some CPD event I went to with Bella. I thought she was hitting on me at first. My super mojo powers were in full effect, especially when I displayed my amazing baby whispering skills. But she knew I was married to a cop and she said she wanted to help when she heard Rosalie was Bella's best friend and sister-in-law. She was even more helpful when I told her Bella was the detective who caught the people at the airport today. I became more interesting to everyone when they found that out.

We walked in the condo and my Bella was standing in the doorway that separated the kitchen from front room. She was holding a pint of ice cream and pulled a spoon out of her smirking mouth.

"Well, look who's finally home! It's Muhammad Ali and the Cullen brothers. I cannot wait to hear this story."

Emmett didn't even bother with his jacket, he stormed back to the bedroom with Lily and her carseat in tow. Rosalie shot Bella an evil glare as she shrugged out of her coat and hung it up. I scratched my head and tried not to laugh. Bella and I exchanged looks and her obvious delight over what happened was not helping me.

"I think you'll have to hear all about it from me, a little later," I promised as I walked over to her for a kiss. She tasted like an incredible yummy mix of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Bella, my favorite flavors.

"Come on, Rose. I want to hear a first hand account. You did what I have been dreaming about for several days now. I need to know how good it felt," Bella begged as she followed a still silent Rosalie into the living room.

"They're both a little pissy," I whispered, hoping Rosalie wouldn't hear and pound on me. "The perfect couple is having their first fight, I think."

Bella looked at me with surprise. "No shit?" she mouthed, picking up in the fact that Rosalie could hurt us at any moment. I nodded.

Rose walked back to the bathroom and shut the door.

"They're fighting because she punched Victoria or because she got arrested?" she whispered.

I shrugged. They didn't actually fight or argue in front of me but their silence was very telling the moment Rosalie was released into our custody. Emmett had a couple minutes with her while I called for a cab. When I rejoined them, they stopped talking again but the tension was thick.

Emmett came out of the bedroom and was headed towards the bathroom until he noticed the door was closed. He stopped and turned towards me and Bella. We stood frozen in our spot with dumb ass grins on our faces. Bella waved at him with her spoon.

"Do you-" Bella started, but the look on Emmett's face not only wiped the smiles off our faces but told her to stop.

He strode back in the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Bella plunged her spoon back into her ice cream, giving me a look that screamed _what the hell_.

Rosalie emerged from the bathroom and crossed the hall to the bedroom without even looking at us. We were still standing there like deer frozen in the middle of the road. Rosalie slowly opened the bedroom door.

"Maybe in the morning we can-" Bella said to Rosalie as she removed the ice cream covered spoon from her mouth once more. Rosalie didn't even acknowledge her, she just walked in the room and shut the door.

I put my arm around Bella's shoulder and Emmett walked out of the room and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Both Bella and I jumped at the sound. We exchanged looks again and I grabbed the spoon from her to get some ice cream for myself. We stared at that the empty hallway in front of us, both eating the chocolately goodness out of the pint. Neither one of us had ever seen them fight before and even though they weren't saying anything, it was fascinating.

"Why is he so mad?" Bella whispered with a mouthful of ice cream.

I leaned in close with my eyes still on the hallway. "He's had enough drama, I guess. He's mad she created more over something so stupid," I whispered back. Emmett came out of the bathroom and Bella and I straightened up and watched him walk back towards the bedroom.

He stopped and looked at us looking at him. "Bells, we'll talk tomorrow," he said with no emotion in his voice.

"Ah, ok. Good night," Bella answered, surprised he spoke.

We both stood there for a minute. Bella was the first to move. She put the ice cream away and then led me back to our bedroom. Once inside our own little domain, Bella tugged me on the bed. She sat in the center of the bed and looked at me expectantly.

"Spill."

I sprawled out on my side in front of her, my head resting on my hand. "What if I want to hear about you shutting down the airport today? The fact that you're a big hero detective today helped Rosalie get out of jail tonight, you know?"

"Really? Shit, stop it." She smacked my leg. "Don't distract me. Tell me why Rosalie punched Victoria. I want every beautiful, and hopefully bloody detail," she said giddy at the thought of it.

I smiled even though I shouldn't find it funny. Victoria was going to fire my ass and probably not pay me for all the work I had already done. All the crap we had been through will have been for nothing.

"Ok, I'm going to tell you but you can't interrupt me," I said, narrowing my eyes at her. Bella was famous for going into detective mode with me and stopping me from telling a story the way I wanted to tell it.

"Deal."

So I began my tale,

_Rosalie and Emmett were getting tired of being locked inside and decided that together as a group, we should be safe. Safety in numbers and all that. Emmett went outside first and looked around, making sure no one suspicious was out there. After getting the all clear, we took a cab to pick up the picture from the developer and run it by Victoria's gallery. Rosalie was kind of revved up about seeing Victoria. I should have known then that we were in for trouble but I figured she'd only be snippy at worst. _

_We walked in and I introduced Emmett and Rose to Charles, who greeted us almost immediately. Victoria came out in this zebra print dress that made it really hard not to look, you know, at certain parts of her body._

Bella rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut.

"Even Emmett had a hard time keeping his eyes on her face, ok?"

"I didn't say anything," she protested

"You didn't have to you stinkin' eye roller," I teased.

"Continue your story," she demanded.

_Rosalie was pretty fired up. She made Emmett carry Lily around, maybe hoping the baby would keep Emmett's attention otherwise occupied. Victoria seemed to like Rose about as much as Rose liked her. Victoria gave us all a little tour of the gallery. Rosalie, proving she was super smart and well educated in all things, starts asking questions and making comments that put Victoria on the spot. I could see that trouble was brewing but I didn't really know how to stop it exactly. Victoria started talking about studying in Europe for a couple years. Rosalie, unimpressed, talked about her time in Europe and started throwing names around. I don't know what they were doing. They were trying to one up each other but I couldn't understand what the point was really. They began to discuss who knew who and who knew who better. Charles saved us, coming over to tell us Victoria had a call. _

_I whispered to Rose to cool it with the attitude but she just brushed me off. We were discussing my work and the pictures I had displayed in the gallery a few months ago and the work I was currently doing for Victoria with Charles. Charles was going on and on about how much he liked my work. I think he has a crush on me, too. I guess I have the same effect on gay men as I do women. Victoria came back and this was when it got a little crazy. Rosalie and Victoria started talking about me. They were both saying very nice things about me actually, like that I'm talented and stuff. It turned into this weird battle almost, like they were trying to see who could compliment me more. Victoria was irked, Rosalie was relentless, and Emmett and I were just plain confused. The next thing I know, Rose said she would like to to have me photograph her. Since I took amazing pictures of you and Victoria claimed I took amazing pictures of her, she wanted -_

"Hold up," Bella interrupted, putting her hand up like a crossing guard.

I shifted my position so I was no longer lying on the bed but sitting in front of her.

"What do you mean since you took amazing pictures of me?" she asked looking concerned.

My stomach dropped and I realized I had slipped. I wanted to come up with a clever lie and make it sound convincing but she was not going to be fooled when she was looking me right in the eye. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes for a second.

"Edward," she said losing patience.

I couldn't look directly at her as I spoke. I stared at her lap and spoke softly. "It's possible that Rosalie accidentally saw one picture of you from last Friday."

Bella let out a frustrated sigh and let her body fall back on the bed. Her hands covered her face.

"It was a total accident. We forgot to shut your computer down and when she turned it on to check her mail one day, there was one of the pictures. Oops," I said trying to be cute. I was hoping she would let it go.

"I am going to delete every one of those pictures, you know that, right?" she said through her hands.

"Rosalie thought the picture she saw was beautiful. You are beautiful. We have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Bella shot up and dropped her hands. "We have nothing to embarrassed about? I'm sorry, was it your private parts splashed all over the monitor for her to see? No, just mine. Oh my god, this is great. Did Emmett see?"

"No, he didn't. He wanted to see what we were talking about, because I swear, as soon as I knew what was happening, I shut the computer off. He has no idea," I said, moving around so I could sit behind her and hold her in my arms.

She was mad but she let me hold her. She started biting on her thumbnail.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I wish everyone could see those pictures so they could see what a fucking lucky bastard I am," I said kissing her shoulder and pulling her closer to me.

She shook her head but didn't respond. I guessed she was also rolling her eyes at me again.

"We're getting close to the hitting part, do you want to hear about it?" I asked trying to entice her out of her bad mood.

"There better be fucking blood," she spat.

I continued,

_So Rose said something about wanting me to take pictures of her and Victoria freaks out. Like Rosalie said she wanted to sleep with me or something. _

"_You know he's in love with his wife, right?" Victoria sneered._

"_Do you know that he's in love with his wife? Because I have always been clear about that. You seem to be the one that's a little - thick," Rosalie gave it back._

"_Thick? You mean like your waist?" Victoria said vindictively._

_Rosalie shook her head and I should have known right then that this was going to get physical. Emmett and I just stood there unsure of what to say or do._

_Rosalie was pissed but still in control. "Well, I had a baby a few months ago and I also don't feel pressured to squeeze myself into micro mini dresses that are designed with women half my age in mind. I have a little more self respect and confidence than that."_

_Victoria, with her hands on her hips, cocked an evil eyebrow. "Really? Because you seem to be all too interested in your husband's brother to be that self-respecting."_

_Emmett decided to hand off Lily to me, I think because he could tell Rose was going to kill her soon. I don't think I have ever seen Rosalie so close to being out of control._

"_Well, I know you don't have any experience with marriage, but all of the Cullens are happily married. There is no need to seek the attention of anyone else."_

"_Ladies, come on. Let's be nice. You don't need to tear each other apart over Edward. My brother has never been able to compete with me, especially when it comes to the ladies, Victoria, trust me," Emmett joked. A joke at my expense, of course. Victoria looked at me as Emmett put his hand on Rosalie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. Victoria's lip twitched and then she narrowed her eyes at me and Lily._

"_It's interesting," she mused dangerously. "I can't help but wonder, Edward..."_

_I was caught off guard. I couldn't figure out why she was going to turn on me all of the sudden._

"_Can't help but wonder what?" I asked cautiously._

"_That baby. Looks nothing like her father. In fact, her coloring, her eyes, she looks much more like her uncle. Wouldn't you say, Charles?"_

_Charles nearly shit himself. All he could do was mutter incoherently._

_That's when Rosalie slipped out of Emmett's grasp and punched Victoria right in the nose. _

"Yes!" Bella cheered loudly. Her hand flew over her mouth. She laughed and then dropped her hand. "Please tell me there was blood," she said quietly but almost sadistically.

"You're scaring me, honey. Please stop wishing for blood," I said squeezing her a little tighter as she looked up at me.

"Sorry. Was there blood? Not that it would make me happy or anything, just curious." Her smile was so falsely sweet.

"Oh, there was blood."

_Rosalie only got one hit in before Emmett grabbed her back up. He lifted her off the ground while she shouted obscenities I don't even feel right repeating. Victoria was stunned, needless to say. She held her bleeding nose and Charles went to get her something to stop the bleeding._

"_You bitch! I will have you arrested!" Victoria threatened._

"_Bring it!" Rosalie shouted. _

_Emmett mistakenly set her feet on the ground. Thanks to you and your little self-defense training, Rosalie thought to stomp on Emmett's foot. The impact caused him to loosen his hold on her and she lunged for Victoria again. They were wrestling on the ground and Charles called the police before he came back with a towel for her nose. I can't say I blame him. Rose looked lethal. _

_Emmett tried to break them up but it was no easy task. I could do nothing, since I was holding Lily. I should never have let Rosalie come in with me. I totally forgot Victoria had some crazy idea that Rose was a rival._

"Rival?" Bella interrupted once again.

"Your interruptions are starting to bother me," I complained.

"Her rival or my rival?" she demanded to know.

I sighed. "She thought Rosalie had a thing for me before she even knew who Rosalie was," I began to explain.

"Why did she think that?" Bella asked, turning her body so she could look at me.

"Well, the day after I rejected her, Victoria had my phone because I forgot it at the studio. It was the same day Rosalie was calling me a million times to tell me she was coming back early. They had a little confrontation on the phone."

"Victoria answered your phone?" Bella asked, obviously peeved.

"She did. She thought that Rose was the reason I wouldn't cheat on you with her."

"She thought you were having an affair with Rosalie?" Bella thought about that for a moment. "Right, because you couldn't have turned her down because you love me." She looked almost offended.

I chuckled softly.

"Who cares what Victoria thinks. I wouldn't cheat on you with either one of them because neither one of them holds a candle to you," I said looking down on her scowl. I kissed her temple and she relaxed in my arms a little.

"Go on, but please do not leave anything out that has to do with Victoria bleeding," she huffed.

_Well, Emmett finally got them off each other. The cops got there so fast. Victoria grabbed the towel from Charles and covered her face. She demanded that the cops arrest Rosalie. One officer was talking to Victoria and one was talking to Rose, who was almost calmed down. Then Victoria made some comment about how there was no way Rosalie would have done that if the accusation wasn't true and Rosalie ripped herself away from Emmett and almost plowed the cop that was standing in front of her over. He tried to stop her from getting to Victoria but, again thanks to you and that karate bullshit, Rosalie dropped the cop. His partner got in her way and she almost got him down as well but the other cop got back up and they ended up handcuffing her and throwing her in the back of their car. Emmett was so angry with her, he didn't even try to talk them out of taking her in. He took Lily from me and put her in her carseat. He told me to call a cab so we could meet Rosalie at the police station. _

That was my story. There wasn't anymore blood or hitting. Bella seemed satisfied with it though.

"So what did Emmett say to you about everything?" she asked when I was finished.

"Emmett didn't really talk much on the way to the station. He just mumbled something about enough bullshit drama to last a lifetime. I apologized, not knowing what else to do. I think this was the last straw for him. He's under so much stress. I felt bad for him all day, actually. I've haven't seen him this stressed since the whole kidnapping debacle."

"Rose is pretty wound up, too. She's trying to hold herself together but I'm sure they feel like everything is crumbling right in front of them and they have no control over it. Not an easy thing for people like her to have to deal with," Bella added in her friend's defense.

"I know. I feel bad for both of them. If it were us, we would leave. I mean, they have all the money in the world because of her trust fund. Shit, they could buy a fucking private island. Hell, the Hales probably own a private island already. I would take you and live out the rest of our lives far away from Aro and his fucking bullshit."

"Away from everyone and everything we love? It sounds easy but Rosalie and Emmett understand everything they would have to give up by running."

I didn't see it that way at all. "Compared to what they could lose by fighting? It's no contest if you ask me. They should only worry about the three of them."

Bella turned to face me. "And what if Aro started coming after the other people Rose and Emmett care about since he can't get to them directly? You don't think that Emmett would care if Aro killed your parents or you?"

I didn't think about that. Well, I had thought about that actually. I thought about Aro coming after me and Bella. Too much lately. I guess I assumed that if Rosalie and Emmett disappeared maybe the whole mess would just go away.

"I don't know. I don't want to think about it. I want to hear about your day. I want to hear about how Detective Bella Cullen stopped a crazy murderer today," I said pushing her hair behind her ear.

"It's not that exciting really. I did stop her from killing my partner," she shrugged.

"Well, what the hell did you do that for?" I said with a smile. I wasn't really kidding but figured I should make it look like that.

Bella laughed. "I thought the same thing afterwards. But in good conscious, I couldn't let her kill him in cold blood."

"You have no problem with Rosalie smashing Victoria's face and breaking her nose but your conscious stops you from letting anything happen to James. Nice," I glared at her playfully.

"Look at that, we both can be crazy jealous," she said, straddling me and wrapping her leg around my body. My body responded immediately. She pressed herself closer, obviously able to feel the effect she was having on me.

"You know what I said earlier about wanting everyone to see those pictures of you?" I asked after kissing her on the mouth.

She arched an eyebrow as I began unbuttoning her shirt.

"I take it back. You, naked, should be for my eyes only. You are mine and only mine. I don't share well."

"I know exactly how you feel Mr. Cullen," she said with lust and love in her eyes.

I got her shirt off and pressed my lips on the scar. She had texted me today before I heard any of the news and good thing she did. If I had only heard the news and the report of a gun being fired at a police officer I would have imagined the worst. I would have pictured a gun pointed at her. The image would have made me crazy.

She was in my arms now and we were getting undressed. It wouldn't be long before I was inside her where I belong.

No one will ever take her away from me. I have to believe that.

**A/N: As always, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**


	25. Chapter 25 Smelly Cab

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. I can't think of a good title for this chapter. It's kind of all over the place but necessary for moving things along. I'm calling it Smelly Cab because it makes me smile. Enjoy and as always, let me know what you think!**

BPOV

I woke up early and found Emmett on the couch with Lily.

"Good morning," I said hesitantly, not sure what kind of mood he'd be in this morning.

"Hey, Bells," he answered back pretty normally.

"How are you? Are you ok?" I asked, trying to read his mood.

"I'm fine. Tired. Didn't sleep well," he admitted. He kissed Lily's head and shook some weird elephant rattle thing in front of her. She smiled, cooed, and tried unsuccessfully to grab it.

"You shouldn't go to bed angry, it's bad for your health," I said with a smile. "Do you want some coffee? I'm going to make a pot."

"Sure," he replied with a small smile. He did seem like he was a little better than last night.

Once the coffee was made, Edward came out in nothing but his pajama pants. His hair was shooting out in so many different directions. _Ugh, what that man does to me._ We're going to have to talk about walking around shirtless in front of me with Rose and Emmett here. It's really not nice.

"Hey brother. Good morning," he said greeting Emmett on his way to the kitchen.

"Edward," Emmett acknowledged.

"Do you want to come to the Bulls game with me tonight? I think I can get you a press pass if you want," Edward offered to Emmett as he walked up behind me in the kitchen. He slipped his hands under my shirt and gently caressed my stomach and then quickly palmed my breast. I elbowed him playfully and pulled away. There could not be bare chests and boob massages, I would come undone right in front of Emmett. I poured him a cup of coffee so his hands would be occupied by something that wouldn't cause me to need a change of panties.

"I don't know, I'll think about it," Emmett answered as the two of us rejoined him in the living room.

"Did you and," I nodded down the hallway, "make up yet?"

Emmett shook his head and turned his attention to Lily. She was smiling so big and making all these adorable noises. What I wouldn't give to be completely oblivious to all the drama going on around me.

"You have to understand, she listened to me bitch about Victoria a lot the last weekend. She didn't do anything that I wouldn't have done," I said in defense of my friend. Emmett could be mad at her all he wanted; she was now my favorite person in the whole world.

"I'm tired, Bells. I'm tired of being so worried about everything. Tired of trying to figure out how to protect my family. Tired of feeling like someone could hurt me or them any second. She didn't need to add to my burden," he said just above a whisper. Rosalie wasn't out here but that didn't mean she wasn't awake.

"She's tired too, Em. Try to remember that." I didn't want to make him angry or feel worse than he already did but Rosalie deserved a break on this one. They both were under so much stress and really, Victoria had it coming. Rosalie was the one that got the pleasure of popping her one. He nodded but didn't say anything in return.

Edward sat in the chair and pulled me down on his lap carefully, so not to spill our coffee.

"I don't even know what to do about Victoria," Edward thought out loud. "Her grandmother's funeral is today. She's got to be so pissed at me. There's no way in hell she's going to let me finish the job."

Ok, now he was making me feel a little guilty. Of course, I felt bad about Edward's job. He worked so hard and put in so much time. His pictures were amazing and there was the possibility that no one will ever see them. I also forgot about her grandma. Victoria was going to have to show up to her grandmother's funeral with two black eyes most likely. If Rosalie broke her nose, like I suspect, she will absolutely look like hell for a few days.

"Maybe I should apologize to her, try to smooth things over," I offered up for consideration.

Edward jerked under me and and almost spit out the coffee that he was drinking.

"Jesus, are you trying to kill me?" he coughed, pushing me off of him and setting his coffee on the table in front of us. "You are going no where near Victoria."

"I'm just saying, I could, you know, explain that it was my fault Rosalie was so aggressive."

Edward shook his head and both he and Emmett laughed. "Nice try. Victoria would set you off in less than ten seconds and then I'd be bailing you out of jail."

"Honestly, Bells, you don't even possess a quarter of the restraint Rose does and she lost it in less than a half hour," Emmett added with a grin.

I was ready to act all offended but what they said was true. If Victoria said anything to piss me off it would be impossibly hard not to pummel her until there was more blood. Ah, if I could only have been there to see the blood.

"What are you smiling dreamily about?" Edward asked pulling me back on his lap.

"You don't want to know. It might make you scared of me," I smirked. He wrapped his arms around me and I was losing the desire to get ready for work. With the case closed on Angela Cheney, today was going to be filled with mind numbing paperwork and phone calls.

"Good morning," Rosalie said as she made her way into the living room.

"Morning," Edward and I said in unison.

Emmett and Rosalie shared a pained look. Emmett stood up with Lily, handing her off to me. I tried to juggle her and my coffee. Edward took the coffee out of my hand and I readjusted my grip on the little girl.

"I'm sorry," Rosalie said in almost a whimper.

"I know baby. I'm sorry I was so mad. I love you so much," Emmett wrapped his big arms around her and lifted her off the ground.

Edward and I stared like we did when they were silently fighting last night, our mouths agape.

Emmett and Rosalie kissed and made up. What the hell kind of fight was that? No yelling, no name calling, no hurting each other's feelings with little resentful jabs. Our UCC challenge should be fighting, Edward and I are so much better at it. We're better at making up, too. Kissing? Please. Hot sex, I guess, can only follow _real_ fighting.

I had to go to work. Once I got to the station, I was surprised to see James already there. I hung my coat up and walked back to the break room to get some coffee. Jared and Garrett weren't in yet and Brady and Stefan had the day off. They were lucky they didn't have to face me today or maybe it was the other way around. They were awfully pissed at me last night.

Captain called James and I into his office once he arrived. He congratulated us on our arrest yesterday and then sent James on his way and asked me to stay. He looked like he was in father mode again. I braced myself for what was coming.

"Things still ok?" he asked watching for my reaction to the question more than listening to my verbal answer.

"Everything's good, sir," I said confidently. Yesterday, James and I worked well together. He did creep me out with his _I won't let anything happen to you, I won't let anyone hurt you_ crap. His moods swings were something I needed to get a handle on but other than that, maybe we would survive.

Captain seemed to believe me. "You'll let me know if that changes," he said sternly.

"Absolutely, sir."

"I talked to a contact with the FBI, said Aro Volturi's trial ended in a mistrial."

"Yeah, but I have to believe he'll be rearrested for something else. It isn't like he was acquitted," I said shifting in my seat uncomfortably. Thinking about Aro made me nervous.

"This guy told me Aro left Seattle, they don't know where he was headed," Captain said, again watching for my reaction.

I swallowed hard and wiped my forehead with my hand. I couldn't believe that the captain was checking up on Aro. This was part of his protectiveness, the part that you didn't see unless it was serious. "I didn't know that."

"Your brother-in-law, the one they tried to blow up, he's somewhere safe?"

Somewhere safe? Did my fucking condo count as safe? Was anywhere safe with Aro Volturi roaming around with the fucking FBI unaware of his whereabouts?

"He's as safe as he can be for now. He's not in Seattle. Now, I wish he kind of was."

"If you need anything. You let me know. I want to make sure you're safe. This Volturi character seems to have a ax to grind with the people who are trying to put him away. You fall in that category, Cullen. If you need some extra patrols to drive by your place, whatever you need, you let me know. I can call somebody over in that district and get it done."

"I appreciate that. Extra patrols would be good. Edward thought he saw someone suspicious outside the building the other day. The guy was kind of staring at our place, at Edward. We spotted him once before. I don't know if it's anything but it got our attention," I admitted. If I was going to keep them all safe, I needed all the help I could get. At least if something went down, patrol would be close enough to help sooner than later.

"I'll call over there today. Anything else?"

"No, sir," I answered quickly but then remembered, "Wait. One more thing. I'm trying to help out my brother-in-law by looking into the man who was killed by the bomb in his car. Any chance you could ok it for me to do a background check?"

"You got it, Cullen. Whatever you need," he said without hesitation.

"Thank you, sir," I got up and walked back to my desk. Aro was no longer in Seattle. If they had wanted to rearrest him, they lost their fucking chance. Maybe he was headed out of the country. I could only hope.

I texted Emmett about what I learned, asking him to please not tell Edward because that would just set him off. He would have us all packed and ready to go in a matter of minutes. Emmett texted back that he would keep it to himself.

With my day full of nothing but some paperwork, I started the background check. James eyed me carefully as we sat working across from one another not speaking. By lunch time I had a bunch of info on Riley Cummins. I knew where he went to school, how many traffic violations he had, I also knew he had a few arrests when he was in his late teens, early twenties. Nothing major, some drunk and disorderly stuff. One trespassing charge. I wondered what his juvenile record looked like. Shit like that was sealed up tight but something told me had a one. One of the arrests when he was nineteen included his older brother, it looked like. Liam Cummins. Liam was about Emmett's age.

"Well, look who's here," James said loudly, breaking my concentration.

I looked up and there was Edward, perfect and gorgeous as ever. I got up and met him halfway across the room, so he didn't get close to James. One bloody nose in 24 hours was enough. James, like Victoria, could light a short fuse with minimal effort.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, wondering why he didn't think to call me before he just showed up.

"I'm here to take you to lunch and to give you this," he said handing me a large manilla envelope. I pulled out the thick file inside. It was the info on Riley that the private investigator had collected.

"Perfect, this is exactly what I needed," I smiled up at him.

"Me or the file?" he asked with a crooked grin. He should not throw that around here. I need to be Detective Bella here not I-want-to-fuck-my-husband-a-thousand-different-ways Bella.

"Both," I said pushing him towards the door. "Let me grab my coat while you grab us a cab."

I set the file on my desk and put my coat on.

"Leaving with Prince Charming?" James looked so fucking annoyed.

"We're going to get some lunch. That ok with you? I'll bring a radio so if something comes up I can meet you."

"Whatever," he said bothered.

"Thanks for not provoking him," I said sincerely. James could have engaged Edward in a little verbal back and forth but he didn't. He was acting like a jealous boyfriend right now but at least he had left Edward alone.

"I don't have time to provoke him. Edward is the least of my worries right now, Iz."

His response surprised me. I couldn't figure out what kind of worries he was dealing with. He had been texting a lot again today. He had done his part of the paperwork and followed up with some people for me. I didn't know what else was occupying his time but I didn't really care.

"Well, good," I said as I started to walk away.

Edward had a cab waiting and we got some lunch. It was a nice little escape for an hour.

"So, I texted this totally lame apology to Victoria because I didn't have the balls to talk to her. She hasn't responded but she is at a funeral today. Maybe her phone is off." Edward was sitting across from me, looking divine. He was sitting by the window and the sunlight was making his hair look like strands of copper. He was messing with it as usual, because he was anxious. Anxious for Victoria to forgive or fire him.

"Don't worry about it. Whatever happens, happens. If she ditches it all, I'll hire you," I said picking up my double cheeseburger, something I'm sure Victoria never gets to eat. I was blessed with a petite body that can ingest many calories without becoming plus sized. I might not have long legs and bodacious curves but I could eat a fucking burger, fries, and milkshake with no worries. I'd let him take pictures of me eating. I laughed at my Edward-like ADD thoughts.

Edward was watching me with curious eyes. "Don't go making promises now, Isabella. I might make sure she fires me if you're going to let me do a Bella exhibit."

I wiped my mouth and picked up a french fry. I pointed at him with it, "I never said you could do an exhibit, I just said I'd hire you. Don't get yourself all worked up over there. I am still deleting those pictures from a week ago."

"Such a tease, Mrs. Cullen." His crooked smile made me sigh with happiness.

We finished eating and grabbed a cab back to the station.

"Rosalie wants to have the first UCC challenge tonight when I get home from the Bulls game. Have you thought of a challenge yet?" he said holding the door open for me. I slid in the backseat of the smelliest taxi in the city of Chicago.

I scrunched up my nose, disgusted by the stench.

"Does it fucking reek in here?" I mouthed.

He inhaled and then almost turned green. Obviously, I wasn't wrong. Something must have died in this cab. I couldn't think straight.

"UCC challenge? I haven't thought about it. Why don't we let them go first, then we'll have time to think of something we will kick ass at," I said trying to breathe through my mouth.

We made it to the station and Edward got out with me because there was no way in hell he was taking the smelly cab all the way home. I was kissing him goodbye when a voice came from behind Edward.

"CK and Izzy B. Back from lunch."

Edward turned slowly and I saw him clench his fist.

"I'll see you tonight," I said, tugging on his arm in an attempt to get him to refocus on me.

James walked to the door of the station with an annoying grin on his face. He stopped and waited for me. Edward, fully aware of his audience, decided to make an impression. He turned back to me and reached up to touch my face. His long fingers caressed my cheek. Then he leaned in and kissed me in a not-so-appropriate-for-public way.

"I love you," he said when he released me. "See you tonight, babe."

"Bye," I squeaked out. I was embarrassed by his little PDA but when Edward kissed me like that - it was fucking magic. I turned into a hormonal, smitten teenager. I caught my breath and headed for the door, which James was holding open with a scowl on his face.

"See ya, _Edward_," James called over his shoulder as he followed me in.

"Don't be a jackass."

"A jackass? He fucking sexually assaults your mouth in front of the station and I'm the jackass?"

I stopped walking and he almost ran me over. I turned to face him before we went up the stairs.

"He is my husband. What he does to my mouth is not your business," I informed him.

Suddenly he looked like he was going to lose his lunch. I couldn't believe he was so aghast by this revelation.

"What the hell is that smell? Where did CK take you to lunch, the fucking city dump? Holy shit, Izzy!" He pinched his nose with his fingers. Not what I was expecting.

I grabbed my ponytail and sniffed. Fuck. Fuck the fucking smelly cab. I was infused with smelly cab smell.

"It was the fucking cab. Fuck," I grimaced and headed up the stairs.

"By the way, I think he wanted it to be my business. Would he have done that if I wasn't standing there?" he said keeping a safe distance from me, probably for his nose's sake.

I didn't answer and when we made it back to our desks I could see something inside him shift. A giant, smug smile crossed his face. "You know, I think CK is a little worried you're starting to like me."

I rolled my eyes. Why was I even having this conversation? _Insufferable_. I began looking through the file Edward brought over. I was trying to concentrate but the all I could think about was how bad I must smell.

"Whatcha looking at there?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"None of your fucking business kind of stuff."

"Such a dirty mouth for such a pretty lady. Guess it matches the stench, not the face," he was biting his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Shut up."

"No problem, Pig Pen."

"Please shut up or I will rub myself all over you so you'll fucking smell, too."

James' eyes lit up. "Damn. That might actually be worth it. I think I'd happily smell like shit to have you rub yourself on me, Iz."

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I was seriously the stupidest person in the room right now and Jared was sitting at his desk with his stapler open trying to shoot staples into his garbage can a couple feet away. I could feel my cheeks get red, skipping pink all together.

I stood up and went to the bathroom in hopes that I could figure out a way to get rid of the smell. I found some Lysol in the storage closet in there. Better to smell like antiseptic than dead animal. Why did I tell James I would rub myself on him? As if he wasn't already confused about our relationship. Maybe he just said stuff to fire me up, maybe I was over-thinking his intentions.

I went back to my desk and avoided James' stare. To my great relief, the captain called James and Jared into his office and sent the two of them on some errand. It left me to work in peace. Riley's file was full of family information. He had a bunch of brothers. His high school and college transcripts were in there. He was a wrestler in both high school and college. Newspaper articles, including the reports about his arrests were in there.

My phone buzzed and there was a text from Edward.

**Just a warning, people may avoid you b/c you smell.**

_I know, the smelly cab got us bad._

**Rose wouldn't shut up until I took a shower.**

_At least you got to shower. I had to spray myself down with Lysol._

**Yikes. Poor Bella. I have an idea for our challenge. Joke contest. I thought of the best joke. **

_?_

**What's black and white and red all over?**

_????_

**Victoria after a run in with Rose's fist. **

Oh man, he was bad but I couldn't help but laugh.

_You're distracting me from work._

**Tell James I say hi.**

_Let it go. My smelly ass only loves you._

**I'll give you a shower when you come home ;)**

Death of me.

_Working here. _

**Leaving you alone, you smell.**

I laughed again and set my phone down. I went back to Riley's file. There was copy of a wedding announcement from the Portland Tribune for his brother Liam. The investigator must have copied everything that had Riley's name in it. Liam, had it been any other brother I might not have paid much attention. I looked the announcement over for no real reason except I was curious. Liam married a girl named Maggie. The bride selected an "_exquisite gown of eggshell organza and satin. The dress was accented with ivory embroidery. One hundred and twenty eight satin bridal buttons marked the closure of the Empire-waistline organza skirt and sweep train, adding interest to the back of her elegant gown_". Why was I reading this? Did people really think that other people who subscribe to newspapers really need this much detail about some stranger's wedding? The bride's sister served as maid of honor. Blah, blah, blah. The bridesmaids wore "_formal merlot_". Was that a color? Or did someone spill their drink on them? Too much detail about the kind of flowers they carried. Then, I almost fell out of my fucking chair. "_Lifelong friend of the groom, James Duncan, served as the groom's best man_." James Duncan. No fucking way.


	26. Chapter 26 Trust and Patience

**Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight.**  
BPOV

It was a good thing James was not sitting across from me when I read that he was _lifelong friends_ with Liam Cummins. How many James Duncans can there be in Portland? It had to be this James. I tried to piece things together in my head. He started the day after Riley died. He didn't look upset. He had to know. Maybe it wasn't him. Wouldn't it have bothered him that his lifelong best friend's brother was blown up? Blown up in Emmett Cullen's car, the day before he met his new partner, Bella _Cullen_. Not that I can talk. I never put together that Edward and Emmett were related. Edward had been very evasive about that, though. James knew I grew up near Seattle and worked there for some time. Even if he didn't put it together at first, you'd think he would have been curious about a connection later. He never asked about it. He asked me a lot of questions over the last few weeks but nothing about Edward's family and who might be in it. The wedding was in 2007, a lot can happen in two years.

The gears in my brain were spinning out of control as I tried to process it all. I was going to have to do more digging, find out for sure if James Duncan, my partner, was indeed the James Duncan, lifelong friend of Liam Cummins. I needed to know more about Liam. I needed to call Emmett. Maybe his investigator could get more info on Liam for me. If James did know Riley, why wasn't he impacted by his death? Why didn't he asked me if I knew Emmett? Why was he here in Chicago? I started my background check into Liam after sending Emmett a text to call me away from Edward's prying ears. It didn't take long for him to call. I went into the women's bathroom to talk where no one could hear me.

"Bells, what's up?" Emmett sounded concerned.

"I don't know what this means but I think that my partner might be a close friend of Riley's older brother."

"Really? Did he say something?"

"No, that's just it. He's never said a word. Never asked me if I knew you or was related to you. Never acted like he knew Riley. Totally unaffected by the whole thing. Didn't go to the funeral. But there's a wedding announcement in here that has him listed as best man at Liam's wedding."

"Are you sure you got the right guy?" Emmett asked the obvious question.

"Not 100% but how many James Duncans around the same age can there be in Portland?"

"Maybe he was friends with Liam and they had a falling out or something. Can you ask him?" Emmett again asked the obvious.

"Well, I can ask him but something tells me he isn't going to tell me the truth. I'm looking closer at Liam. Can you get your investigator to gather some stuff on him?"

"Sure."

"I'm doing a background check right now. James isn't here right now, but I'll work on him when he gets back. He talked a little about his family the other day, maybe I can ask about friends. See if he brings it up on his own."

"Ok. Sounds like a plan."

"Don't tell Edward. He hates James already and if he thinks that James is somehow even indirectly connected to all this other shit, he's going to have a fit," I begged, knowing he'd do exactly as I asked.

"No problem, Bells. Just be careful," he said all brotherly.

I walked back out into the office to find James standing my my desk. I flew over to him.

"You're back!" I said breathlessly. I grabbed Riley's file of stuff and shoved it in a drawer.

"I'm back," he said with furrowed brow. "You all right there, Iz?"

I tried to laugh it off, "I'm fine. I was just wondering where you were and when you were coming back and then there you were. Back. Here. By my desk. Back. From wherever you were. With Jared."

I was a rambling moron who was nodding and waving her arm around. I was doing my best to block his view of my desk with my body. James looked at me with well-deserved concern and then smiled.

"You missed me? Is that it?"

"Please," I snorted, sitting down at my desk and closing down the screen on my computer before he looked at it.

"Izzy, Izzy, Izzy B. I see why CK is getting all worked up," he said, pulling on my ponytail and then sitting back down at his desk.

It hit me, if he thought I was interested in him, he might be more willing to tell me things. I was going to have to think about that a little more. The thought of playing this game with him seemed more dangerous than anything.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. I was lost in my thoughts and James was busy handling whatever the captain had him and Jared doing. By the time I got home, Edward had already left to take pictures at the Bulls game. Emmett had opted to stay back so we could talk freely with Edward gone. We discussed what the private investigator had gathered about Riley. His financial records became the most interesting find. Riley made a decent wage with the DA's office. He had some money in the bank when he died. He had a checking account, a savings account, a 401K, and two $10,000 CDs. Here was the thing, where did the $20,000 for the CDs come from? He didn't save a bunch up and then transfer it from his savings to a CD. His tax returns, his paychecks, all went through his checking account. He came into $20,000 somehow, some way over the last couple years. He opened one CD almost two years ago and the other six months before he died. It was possible he was gifted it from a relative but Riley had four brothers. I didn't know what Mr. Cummins did for a living but to be able to give all of his children $10,000 every year seemed unfathomable. I was interested in seeing if Liam's financials came back the same or not.

Emmett remembered Liam from the funeral. The Cummins family had all been very kind to Emmett when he was there. All of his brothers had been devastated. Emmett remembered Liam's wife, Maggie. She had curly brown hair and was Irish, from Ireland Irish. He remembered her because of the accent and because she was pregnant, very pregnant.

We had everything put away by the time Edward got home. Rosalie was chomping at the bit to start their UCC challenge. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a welcome distraction or a disaster because I was so preoccupied with all that went on today.

"The game is called Mine Field. The way it works is one person is blindfolded and their partner has to direct them around so-called mines. We can use anything we want as a mine. In addition to the mines, there are seven 'treasures' that the blindfolded person must find and carry out of the mine field. The couple who collects four treasures first wins," Rosalie explained as we all sat in the living room sharing a bottle of wine.

"Maybe we shouldn't be drinking," Edward said lolling his head back and looking at me with his lopsided smile. I nudged him playfully.

Rosalie decided we would use plastic cups as the mines. We had a bunch of Solo cups from a pre-wedding barbeque we hosted over the summer. Edward grilling on our little fire escape was quite a sight. She and I spread them all over the living and dining room while the boys moved the furniture out of the way. We picked seven random objects as the treasures - a picture frame, a candle holder, Edward's keys, a book, a coaster, Lily's elephant rattle, and a Wii remote. The guys got to decide where to place those throughout the mine field.

"Ok, so the rules are easy. One person can talk and has to direct their blindfolded partner to the treasures. The blindfolded person can't talk. If he or she touches a mine then they have to return to their starting point outside the mine field. After they count to ten they can resume treasure hunting," Rosalie said, looking so proud of herself for thinking this game up. I had to hand it to her it was creative and did seem like it would be challenging.

"So, who's getting blindfolded for your team?" Emmett asked, holding two of Edward's ties.

"Edward."  
"Bella."

We both answered at the same time.

"No, no, no. _You_ are getting blindfolded," I corrected him.

"Why do I have to be blindfolded? You're smaller, you can maneuver through this thing way better than me," he argued.

"Um, if we're working off our strengths, I'm much better at being bossy than being bossed. I can better direct you where to go," I said stating what I thought was obvious.

Edward dropped his head and began complaining, "I don't like being blindfolded. It makes me feel claustrophobic."

"Oh, come on. You are not claustrophobic. Don't be such a baby. You are being blindfolded."

"We are so going to win, they're fighting already," Rosalie said cheerfully as she grabbed one of the ties, walked to her starting spot, and covered her eyes with it.

"See Rose is doing it for their team," Edward whined.

"Rock, paper, scissors," I offered - fist on palm, ready to go.

"Fine," he huffed.

"One, two, three, throw," I counted out. Scissors beat paper. He was going to be blindfolded.

"Shit!" he exclaimed when he lost. "Best two out of three."

"Put the damn tie over your eyes. The no talking thing is going to be a welcome relief," I said rolling my eyes and walking over to the couch where Emmett and I would be directing.

"But, Bella -"

"Shush," I said holding a finger up.

"I-" he tried again.

"Shh," I interrupted.

"Stop shushing m-"

"Zip it!"

"Grandma is going to be so happy to hear that Edward and Bella desperately want to sit by her at Christmas dinner. She is going to feel so loved," Emmett said from his perch on the couch.

Edward groaned and took his spot outside the mine field. He tied his blindfold over his eyes and frowned.

"If we lose, I am totally blaming you," he said as his final words.

"Just do what I say, shush, and we will not lose," I encouraged, feeling my competitiveness taking over.

"Ok," Rose said loudly. "Starting now only Emmett and Bella can talk. Let's go!"

Emmett and I immediately started shouting out directions - telling our spouses which direction to turn, how many steps to take, when to bend down and pick something up. Both Edward and Rosalie moved gracefully through the mine field. I knew he was better cut out for this than I was. He moved like a giant cat - stealthily, controlled. We had the first treasure. As I tried to lead him out, though, he turned right when I told him to go left and he hit a cup.

"Damn it!" I yelled out.

"Stand still, Rosalie. Edward, drop your treasure and go back to your starting point," Emmett directed.

Edward silently counted to ten and we started again.

"You got this, baby. You were so close to getting it out. Just listen to me not Emmett," I reminded him.

"I was listening to you, I just screwed up. Sorry."

"It's fine. Now, step forward two small steps and then take one side step to the left," I said as Rosalie got her first treasure out of the mine field to the delight of Emmett, who was whooping it up.

We were right behind them. Edward easily finished getting the picture frame out of the field. They both went back in and headed to their next targets. If I didn't know Rosalie as well as I did, I would have sworn she could see through her fucking tie because she was flawless. This of course was just Rosalie. She did everything perfectly. She listened to Emmett and only moved when he told her to.

We were neck and neck on the second treasure. Edward grabbed his keys and Rosalie got Lily's elephant out of the red Solo cup covered living room. The third one was tricky. I realized we were both going for the same one and had to change my game plan since it looked like Rosalie could get to the book before Edward. I had him change direction and head towards the Wii remote. He got it and made it out before Rosalie and the book. We only needed the coaster and we were going to win. Edward was moving before I spoke, his body remembering the paths it had taken before.

"Would you wait for me to tell you where to go?" I asked, my tone warning him of the wrath he would face if he blew this because of his impulsivity.

"Ok, but talk faster," he responded.

"Ah, back to the starting point. You can't talk Edward!" Emmett said excitedly.

"Shit!" I threw my hands up in frustration.

"Oh, come on! A penalty for fucking talking? Was that in the rules?" Edward complained.

"Yep," Emmett said nodding happily. Then he went back to directing Rosalie to the final treasure.

"Just go, Edward. Come on!" I said trying to get him to move it.

He silently counted to ten while Rosalie made her way through the maze slowly but steadily.

Edward's starting point was closer to the coaster, which was part of my plan. Leaving something close for last. Both Rose and Edward were headed to the same thing but from opposite directions. She was a little closer than him. I tried to stay calm as they were both got close enough to grab it. Emmett had Rosalie crouch down and reach with her hand. I had Edward walk right up to it so all he had to do was bend down and pick it up. Rose was sweeping her hand in front of her to find it while Edward kicked it with his foot. We were going to win, all he had to do was pick it up and get out. He grabbed it and I could feel my heart beat faster. Holy shit we were going to beat Rosalie and Emmett. This was awesome. Edward took a step backwards, retracing the steps that got him there. I should have just trusted that he knew what he was doing but that wasn't the way I wanted him to go. I yelled out for him to stop as he lifted a foot that would have landed safely on the floor. My shouting startled him, causing him to pivot a little and stepped right on a cup when he put his foot down.

"He hit a mine! Put the coaster down and go back to your starting place, man!" Emmett joyously shouted.

My head fell into my hands. We were so close and we blew it.

"Why the hell did you yell at me?" Edward said lifting up his blindfold.

"You were moving when I wasn't directing you!" I accused angrily.

"Was I going to hit something?" he challenged.

"No, but you are supposed to listen to me. Let me guide you."

"You did guide me! I was just following what you said in reverse!" he argued.

My need to over-control the situation and his overconfidence had cost us the win. Rosalie now had the coaster and was being led out of the mine field by Emmett. Edward took off the blindfold and threw it into the center of the room. Rosalie took off her blindfold and Emmett bounded over to her for a victory hug and kiss.

"It was closer than close, you guys. I thought we would kill you two in this and you proved me wrong." Rosalie actually sounded impressed.

I started picking up cups as a way of redirecting my negative energy. Rosalie and Emmett joined me. I made my way over to Edward who was standing with his hands on his hips and a devastatingly beautiful but disappointed look on his face. I stood in front of him and frowned at his frown.

I kissed his sad lips and he didn't move.

"I fucking hate losing," he huffed.

"Me, too."

"Trust me next time." His green eyes narrowed at me.

"Be patient and wait for me next time," I replied. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead.

* * *

EPOV

Bella set her gun on the nightstand before climbing into bed with me. My hands ran threw my hair in response to the anxiety that filled every cell in my body. I was still pouting over our loss tonight. We were so close to victory. It would have been so awesome to beat them at their own challenge. But I was cocky and she was so damn controlling. If Emmett said one more thing about Christmas dinner, I was going to kick his ass. We didn't talk, just fell asleep with her body pressed snugly against mine.

The next few days flew by quickly. We went out to the suburbs to visit Renee on Sunday. Bella wanted to help her shop for groceries for Thanksgiving dinner. Emmett seemed on high alert. He and Bella had been having secret conversations all weekend. The kind they would stop having as soon as I came near. They were constantly looking over the paperwork Emmett's private investigator sent as well as a bunch of stuff that Bella brought home from work on Friday. From what I was able to overhear, I gathered that they were thinking the guy who blew up in Emmett's jeep was somehow involved in this madness more than they originally believed. They also seemed interested in the guy's family. Every time I tried to get answers out of Bella she shut me down. She'd tell me that they were just trying to find a way to once and for all clear Emmett's name in this whole mess.

Victoria sent me a strange text on Sunday that said "_I still love you Edward. You are forgiven. See you after Thanksgiving_." I chose to not share the I love you part with Bella but let her know it seemed I was forgiven and still had a job.

Monday came and went. Tuesday, Emmett seemed more nervous and restless than usual. Bella came home that night and they went into Emmett and Rosalie's bedroom to talk for an hour. It was getting a little annoying. My parents, Alice, and Jasper were all due in town tomorrow. They were staying at the new Hale Hotel downtown. Emmett called to make sure everything was set up for them. He made arrangements for him, Rosalie, and Lily to stay at the hotel on Thursday night as well. The more he got prepared for Thanksgiving, the more I thought he was putting so much into it because it might be his last holiday with the family. The more secretive he and Bella got, the more I worried he was going to take off without giving me any warning.

That night I sat in bed, waiting for Bella to come out of the bathroom. Her gun was sitting on her nightstand. I stared at it. As a kid, I was never too into guns and war. I wasn't the kid that played cowboys and indians or acted out fucking Power Rangers or anything like that. That stuff never appealed to me. I enjoy shoot 'em up movies as much as the next guy but I have never been drawn to weapons and violence. I'm definitely a lover not a fighter. Bella's gun is not something I ever touched or even looked at very closely. Until all of this, it was always locked up. I never saw it - didn't need to, didn't want to. Now it sat next to our bed every night, a reminder that someone wanted to kill someone I love. It frustrated me knowing it also meant that if that someone came here to kill someone I love, Bella was going to try and stop them. She was going to use that stupid, black, chunk of metal to stop them. My stomach felt like it was tied in knots.

Bella came out in her blue flannel pajama pants that had stars and moons all over them and a tight short sleeved blue tee shirt that said "Insomniacs do it at night". I got those for her for Valentine's Day. Bella was not a lingerie kind of girl, she looked hot in it but she never slept in it. Tonight, she was looking stressed out. She joined me in bed and turned to face me.

"Goodnight, baby," she said giving me a little peck on the lips.

Bringing my hand up to her face, my fingers gently ran down her cheek. She was so beautiful, so seemingly fragile. My porcelain doll. Her eyes closed as she let herself enjoy my touch.

"Emmett's making plans to leave, isn't he?" I said quietly. Her brown eyes opened and her lip twitched.

"That's a conversation for you and him to have," she replied, giving nothing away.

"Don't you trust me enough to tell me what's been going on? You and Em hide away, having all these private conversations. It's starting to drive me mad. You know my imagination is probably worse than the reality of it all," I said, my fingers still gliding smoothly across her face.

She sighed heavily. Her hand grabbed my wrist but she kept my hand on her face.

"Can you trust me to tell you what you need to know when you need to know it?"

"I trust you, Bella. That trust doesn't change the fact that I prefer to know now, not later."

She pursed her lips, "Edward, I am trying to figure things out. To tell you what I know so far and what I suspect but don't know for sure is just going to cause you to worry about things that you might not need to worry about at all. I promise you, once I know what's what, I will tell you."

"I'm not a baby, I don't need you to protect me. Maybe I can help you sort it out. Maybe I can help."

She kissed me again and moved her body closer to mine. I couldn't tell if she was trying to distract me or not, maybe because it was working as a very good distraction.

"I'll know more soon and once I get a couple more pieces to this puzzle, I'll tell you." She kissed me again. "I promise." She pushed a leg between mine and pulled my hand down to her breast.

"What were we talking about again?" I asked, attacking her mouth with my own.

She was damn good at that distraction shit.

Wednesday. The day before Thanksgiving. My parents were due in around noon and Alice and Jasper were coming in later in the afternoon. They were renting cars so there was no need to pick them up, which was a relief. O'Hare over Thanksgiving weekend was a nightmare. I decided to have a talk with Emmett before Mom and Dad got here.

Bella had said if I wanted to know what Emmett was thinking, I should talk to him. She wasn't going to tell his secrets. Lily was down for her first nap and Rosalie was on the phone with Alice, discussing their arrival.

"So, Bella and I had a conversation last night," I said sitting down next to him at the dining room table. He was on my computer reading the news on the web. I thought maybe if I made him think Bella told me something he'd open up.

"That's good," he replied, not looking up from the computer.

"We talked about what you guys have been hiding from me the last few days." Ok, so she didn't tell me anything but we did talk about how she has been hiding things. So I didn't really lie.

Emmett quirked an eyebrow at me, "Really?" He wasn't buying it. He knew Bella too well. I'm sure they had discussed what they could tell me and what they couldn't.

I shrugged and raked my hand through my hair. "Yeah, I asked her to tell me what was going on." Again, not a lie. "I'm not a child. I'm her husband and your brother. I wanted to know what was going on. You're leaving, aren't you?"

He closed the laptop and cocked his head. He looked me straight in the eye, trying to decipher what I really knew.

"She didn't tell you anything," he smirked and shook his head. He reopened the laptop.

"What makes you think that?"

He sighed, "Because if she told you, you wouldn't be sitting here asking me questions about what my plans are."

I pushed the laptop closed so he would have to deal with me. I didn't know what that meant. What would I be doing if I knew?

"Are you leaving after Thanksgiving?" I deserved to know, to be prepared. I also wanted to know why. What had they found that made him feel like he needed to run?

"Yes, we are leaving after Thanksgiving. Please don't say anything to Mom and Dad until I'm ready. I want to enjoy this holiday. I want them to enjoy this holiday with Lily." His eyes were sad and serious. He wanted them to enjoy this holiday with Lily because it might be awhile before they are able to have one with her again.

"Why?" I asked simply. Things had happened over the last few days. Things that would make me freak out, but I needed to know what it was.

"A lot of reasons, Edward," he answered, putting both hands on his head and looking down at the table.

"What happened? What do you know now that you didn't know a few days ago?" I demanded.

He looked up at me. "There are things we know and a lot of things we don't know. Bella is trying to put a few more pieces together but based on what we know, it's better that Rosalie and I take Lily away."

"What do you know?" He looked away again. "Come on Em. What do you know? What has Emmett Cullen ready to run? My big brother wouldn't run unless it was bad."

"I'm only telling you what we know for sure. Do you understand? You can not freak out and you cannot call Bella and make some sort of scene. Promise me,"

"I promise," I said, willing to do anything for the information. He was going to let me in on the big secret.

"Aro is missing."

"Missing, like someone made him go missing or he made himself go missing?"

"He disappeared, on his own."

Fuck that's what I was afraid of.

Emmett continued since I didn't outwardly flip out. "Remember Tanya?"

"How can I forget?" Tanya was the one who helped Mike Newton kidnap Rosalie. She was partly to blame in my book for Bella getting shot by Newton. Tanya got off easy. She testified against some of the Volturi and got put into Witness Protection.

"She was found dead of a massive drug overdose this past weekend. Only thing is, Tanya didn't have a drug problem. At least no history of a drug problem until her overdose." I knew what Emmett was trying to insinuate. Her overdose was no accident.

"Fuck," I mumbled. Aro was out and he was taking down those who brought his organization down one at a time.

"Now, on top of those two things we know for sure, there is a shitload of stuff that we kind of know, we think we know, or we strongly suspect. All of it leads me to believe it would be best if I get my family out of here, off the map, so to speak."

I was speechless. I was desperately fighting to urge to run out of here, grab Bella, and take her off the fucking map, too. How could Bella keep this from me? How could she not tell me that Aro was running around and no one knew where he was? Then there was the bigger question, what else was going on that they only suspected? I was pissed. Emmett could see it.

"Now, I treated you like a fucking adult. I need you to act like one and hold your shit together. Bella is working her ass off to get some more answers. She doesn't need to worry about you freaking out. You promised."

I stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen to get a drink.

"You promised!" he called after me.

It was before noon but I was going to have a beer because it was afternoon somewhere in the world. I opened the bottle and drank half of it before returning to the dining room.

"I'm serious, Edward. She didn't tell you because she knew you would be worried. She doesn't want you to react out of fear," Emmett said.

"I'm not going to do anything. Relax," I promised finishing off the bottle with one more swig. I didn't know what to do anyways. "Why did you tell me? You could have refused, like she did last night."

Emmett pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're right. You're an adult. Plus I'm not telling you anything that you couldn't find out on your own. You know, if you watched the news or picked up a paper, you would already know this."

"Well, thanks for telling me. I won't say anything to Mom and Dad."

He nodded. I messed with my hair and went to throw my beer bottle in the recycling bin. I needed to get dressed. Mom and Dad would be here soon. The fun was just beginning.

**A/N: Poor Tanya. The first casualty. More to come... Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Jasper coming up next chapter. **


	27. Chapter 27 Secrets

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. This chapter is back and forth between Bella and Edward, I could have split it into two separate ones but decided to have them take turns in one long one. Enjoy.**

EPOV

"I think she just said hi!" my mother squealed as she held Lily on her lap. My mother had Lily standing upright on her lap, holding her tightly around her tiny little waist. Lily was bouncing and smiling up a storm, flashing her dimples like she already knew that shit was going to get her ponies and cars and whatever the hell she wanted when she was older. Lily cooed and giggled. My parents were eating it up.

"Holy shit, I think she just said, 'I love Grandma'," I teased from my stool by the breakfast bar.

My mother narrowed her eyes at me but smiled, "Be nice to me, Edward Anthony."

"And watch your mouth around the baby, son," my father added, looking at me with his trademarked stop-being--an-idiot-Edward look.

I rolled my eyes. "She's five months old, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know what I'm saying."

"She is a very smart little girl, she might understand more than you think. Babies are like little sponges. They pick up on everything. And this little girl is the smartest and cutest and prettiest." My mother started talking in that annoying baby voice while she gently tickled Lily's sides. Lily giggled and talked right back in her own little language. She might not know what I'm saying but she knows she has my mom wrapped around her little finger. I'll give my niece that much.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure that was, 'Uncle Edward's the shit'," I laughed at my own joke as I got up and walked around to the kitchen to get another beer.

As soon as I was out of their sight my face fell. I was so fucking tense it wasn't even funny. I couldn't stop thinking about what Emmett had told me about Aro and Tanya. I thought about how he was going to run with Rosalie and Lily. I thought about how all I heard him and Bella talk about for the last few days was that Riley guy and his family. So, what the hell did he have to do with all this? What was all the stuff they still weren't telling me? What was Bella still looking into? What was she going to have to do to get her answers? All that shit was driving me nuts. Now my parents were here and gushing, like they should, over their granddaughter. I felt bad knowing Emmett was going to tell them this weekend that they weren't going to see her again for who knows how long.

"That's like number six, isn't it?" Rosalie said as she spotted me opening my bottle.

I hadn't been counting but that sounded kind of high. I was buzzing pretty good, though.

"What's it to you?" I asked before taking a drink.

"Listen, I know what Emmett told you. But you need to hold it together. Your parents don't need to be worried about anything this weekend."

I laughed and almost spit up my last sip. "Relax, Rose. I'm fine. I'm just trying to fucking relax so we can all have a great weekend. Full of fucking family fun. Ha. Did you hear that? Fucking family fun. Funny. Ha!" I was definitely buzzed and an idiot.

"Don't make this harder on your brother, please," she whispered. Her eyes were so serious it sent a chill through my body.

She turned and walked out after grabbing a bottled water out of the refrigerator. My father walked in after her. My hand flew to my hair. My father and I were doing better but I never knew what to expect from him.

"So," he started, nervously running his hand through his hair as well.

"So," I repeated. We stared at each other for a minute. "Glad you guys made it ok," I said, making conversation.

"Yeah, everything went well considering it's a busy travel day."

"Uh huh," I nodded, taking another drink. We stood there, each of us staring holes into the floor.

"How have you been holding up? Your brother's been calling your mother but you, you haven't been checking in as much. I mean, I know that's not your style but you know your mother's been worried about you. We both have been worried about you," he said clearing his throat after saying _we. _

This was the stuff I didn't know how to do with him. I didn't know how to just talk to him about how I felt or what I thought. We never did that. My dad and Emmett, they could talk. They could talk for hours, shooting the shit about whatever. But Dad and I only fought when I was growing up. That or he was lecturing me about something. My father was going to be devastated about Emmett going away. Emmett was the favorite son. I could never live up and he was going to be left with just me.

"I'm fine. Things have been so busy lately. I've been working a lot and when Rosalie was gone and we were taking care of Lily, it was crazy, you know. Now, it's Thanksgiving and everybody's coming and yeah, it's just, you know, crazy." I didn't know what else to say. Crazy was the only word I could obviously come up with. I couldn't tell him what was really bothering me.

He eyed me suspiciously. I could see he was picking up on my nerves. Ever since he saw me freak out over Bella getting shot he was all into my anxiety and fear.

"Emmett says Bella has been a big help in all this bullshit in Seattle," he said, opening the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of what I was drinking. I don't know if I could remember the last time I heard my father swear.

"You know, Bella. When there's trouble in the Cullen family, she's always there trying to fix it, no matter what trouble may find her in the process." I didn't realize I was so angry about that but that's what it was. Bella would do anything for my family even it meant putting herself in danger. She'd take a bullet for any one of us. _Fuck_. I finished off my beer and grabbed another one.

"Has she been very successful in finding out who is responsible for all this?" He was looking to me for some answers. Obviously my brother had been keeping him out of the loop as much as me. I smiled. My father should know better than to think they'd tell me anything.

"Those two tell me about as much as they tell you," I said solemnly. His eyes met mine and I saw understanding there. He was as upset about not having all the information as I was.

"Hey, you two just going to hang out in the kitchen all day?" Emmett said leaning in through the pass through.

My father smiled at Emmett and then looked at me again with concern. He walked out and I looked up at Emmett who was giving me the _shut the fuck up_ look. I rolled my eyes. As if I was going to tell our father all the secrets. I didn't even know all the fucking secrets. I wanted to know and I think I didn't want to know at the same time. Something told me that once Bella figured this all out, it was going to mean trouble for us. I downed my beer and threw it in the recycling. Rosalie had been right, there were seven bottles in there. Fuck it. I grabbed one more on my way out. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the weekend.

* * *

BPOV

Today was the day. Today I was going to work my magic on James. The last few days, I had gotten answers to some questions but those answers led to more questions. It appeared my partner, James Duncan, was most likely Liam Cummins friend from Portland. The private investigator had found them both in the same high school yearbook. That answer only made me wonder why James hadn't reacted to Riley's death. Everything about why James was here was a mystery but one that made me think it wasn't a coincidence. Emmett and I spent the weekend focusing on Riley when Emmett got the call that Tanya had been found dead. I didn't tell Edward because then I'd have to explain that Aro was missing. If he found out Aro was missing, the man would be a wreck. With his dad and mom coming, he was already stressing out. I felt like we needed to get through Thanksgiving. Then Edward and I would deal with everything, the bad, the worse, and the worst, all at once.

I thought he had no idea what was coming, until last night when he asked me if Emmett was going to run. I guess he was reading Emmett's mood better than I thought. Emmett decided it was best to go into hiding until the police find Aro again. He didn't trust the government protection, not that they'd even offer it. He was going to take Rosalie and Lily out of the country. The only way to keep them and us safe was for us to not have contact once they left. I knew this was going to kill Esme, Carlisle, and even Edward. Emmett planned on telling his family after Thanksgiving. I didn't feel it was my place to tell Edward. Emmett wanted to do this on his terms so I had to respect that.

Work had made it hard to pump James for information the last couple days. We had a domestic violence case and a sexual assault come through. Happy fucking holidays. I hated this time of year; people get all stressed out about the financial burden of Christmas or whatever and being around their family. Add the fact that there's plenty of alcohol to go around and you have stressed out drunk people beating their wives or punching their brother. This is one of the busiest times for domestic disturbances and stuff like that. James had been really good at handling the women we had to talk to. I was kind of amazed that he could show that kind of compassion. At the same time, he also enjoyed roughly handling the guy we brought in for the assault charge. Of course, we'd be alone and he'd make stupid, sexist remarks, just like always but it was nice to see him show he could care.

Monday, I got a little out of him and he in turn seemed to be trying to get info out of me as well. He was really interested in what I was doing for the holiday. He wanted to know why I wasn't going away. He wanted to know if I was cooking, who was coming over, stuff like that. I kept it general. I didn't tell him we were going to my mom's. I told him I would be doing the cooking just not in my kitchen and we would be celebrating with family. He did ask if Rosalie was still here and if she was going to help cook. I thought it was interesting that he wanted to know if she was still here. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he had no plans except for football and some take out. His answer made me think maybe he was looking for an invite to dinner. I was having a hard time figuring him out.

Today we finished up the final interview with our assault victim and were headed back to the station. Both of us were getting off a little early today, Captain's little gift to us. Emmett and I had discussed I should invite James out for drinks. If I could loosen him up, maybe he would let a few things slip.

James was driving and I looked out the window at all the lights and decorations in the store windows as we drove by. Thanksgiving always gets screwed over. As soon as people get rid of their jack-o-lanterns, up go the Christmas trees. There's a local radio station that does this yearly bit with an angry Pilgrim. They send some guy all dressed up out to a house that's all done up for Christmas before Thanksgiving. He runs in and steals all the decorations, returning them after Turkey Day. I can see why someone thought of that. It looks pretty Christmasy out there already.

My mind drifted back to the woman we just left. She was date raped by a guy she met at work. He admitted to having sex with her but claimed it was consensual. She was smart to the hospital right away at the urging of her roommate. She had gotten the physical evidence documented. I'm not sure what this guy thought consensual was but she had some pretty extensive bruising on her wrists and thighs. She also had bruising around her neck from where he choked her into submission. It was sick. Then there was our other victim this week, the woman who's husband slammed her face into the kitchen counter because she had gone over to help a neighbor and didn't get back in time to get his dinner on the table promptly at six. She probably wouldn't have pressed charges if the neighbor hadn't run over to thank her one more time, only to find her bleeding on the floor with her husband standing over her kicking her.

"I'm not sure which is worse - a guy who thinks just because a girl says she'll go to dinner with him, he should get laid at the end of the night whether she wants to or not or a guy who says he loves his wife but beats the shit out of her when she doesn't have dinner ready on time," I said leaning my head back.

"I don't know what's worse, a girl who dates a jackass who rapes her at the end of the night or the stupid woman who stays with the bastard that beats her over dinner," James replied, sounding annoyed.

I snapped my head around to look at him. "Are you serious right now? Are you trying to tell me it was the woman's fault on both accounts?" I was ready to punch him in the face for that comment.

"Whoa, calm down Izzy B. I'm not blaming them, I just think it's the perfect example of why guys think women are so weak. They get themselves in these dumbass situations where assholes can take advantage of them."

"So that girl we just talked to was suppose to know the seemingly nice guy who asked her out was really a piece of shit rapist?"

"No, but she shouldn't have been smarter than to go into his apartment with him until she knew him better," he answered, taking his eyes off the road to look at me.

"That doesn't make her stupid, it makes her trusting. She trusted she could hang out with him and not be violated. There are a lot of men out there that would never rape a woman. She was fucking unlucky, not stupid!" I practically yelled, infuriated by his thinking.

He was smiling at me as he took his eyes off the road again. "That's what I love about you, Iz. You wouldn't let either of those things happen to you. No guy would stand a chance. You're too smart, you don't trust easily, and you're tougher than nails. I would love to see you kick the shit out of someone who tried to fuck with you."

I opened my mouth and then closed it. My head swung back towards the window. That was partly true. I fucked the asshole up in the end but only after he had beat me good a couple times. What Jacob did to me was in no way my fault but it did make me feel fucking weak. I hated feeling weak. No one was ever going to make me feel that way again.

"Are you all right?" James asked putting his hand on my knee. His touch startled me and I was quick to push his hand away.

"I'm fine," I said angrily.

"I was complimenting you, you know that, right? You are the fucking strongest woman I have ever met. You're strong all around, mind and body. You deal with all my shit, giving it back to me when I deserve it. You're a little thing but you're strong. Hell, you took me down in your living room and I was really fucking trying. Nobody fucks with you, that's what I love about you, Izzy B." His voice quieted a little bit at the end. That was the second time he said he loved something about me.

"Plenty of strong women get in bad situations. It's not their fault. Sometimes they don't realize how strong they are. Sometimes they forget and bad things happen. Then they remember and the fuck that shit up." I was staring straight ahead, refusing to let him see my eyes while I spoke. He'd know right away I was speaking from personal experience. That was not the shit we needed to be focused on.

"You're right," he choked out. Then he chuckled softly. "You can fuck some shit up, though, Izzy. Never forget that."

We were both quiet a moment and then it hit me.

"Do you want to grab a couple drinks with me, after work?" I asked, figuring the sensitive crap would make him all the more eager to spend more time with me.

He looked at me again and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"James!" I shouted. The light in front of us had turned red and the car in front of us stopped. He was distracted and had to slam on the brakes so we didn't hit it.

"You want to go get drinks? With me? After work?" He looked a little stunned.

"Well, not if you're trying to kill me with your fucking bad driving," I joked. He seemed to tense at my words and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I so don't want to kill you, Izzy. I definitely want to get some drinks with you."

"Good," I said, confident that I was going to get some answers in a few short hours.

* * *

EPOV

"Oh my God! Please tell me that she bought that picture of her by the lake! That picture was absolutely stunning!" Alice cried as she flipped through the second wedding album, looking for a picture she wasn't going to find. Alice and Jasper got here and the little party planning pixie couldn't wait to get her hands on our wedding pictures. It shouldn't have been surprising that she would care, seeing as how she and Bella spent much of our wedding day fighting over how many pictures were taken.

"She wouldn't put it in the albums but we got it for Renee. So, I get to look at it whenever I go over there. Renee bought all the pictures Bella wouldn't let me fucking buy," I answered, still feeling more than buzzed. Rosalie had effectively cut me off over an hour ago, following me to the kitchen and grabbing the last beer I tried to drink right out of my hand. She shoved a water bottle at me and after pouring some pretzels into a bowl told me to go serve my guests some snacks. The look on her face said _don't fuck with me_ and I decided I wasn't up for the challenge.

"Could you please watch your mouth around the baby?" my mother implored. She had reluctantly handed Lily off to Alice for a few minutes when they first got here and Rosalie fed her once but other than that the baby never left my mother's arms.

"Mother, for the love of God. She's been fucking living here for over a fucking month. Don't you think she's heard me fucking swear already?"

"How about watch you mouth in front of your mother? How about that?" my father cut in with that all familiar disappointed look on his face.

"Sorry, jeez," I huffed. My leg was bouncing and even fucking drunk I was wound so fucking tight. Emmett glared at me and Rosalie looked like she wanted to strangle me. I got up and went into the bathroom to take a piss and attempt calming down. I wanted Bella to come home. I needed Bella to come home. Just having her here would make everything better. I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called her. She didn't pick up. I called again. Voicemail again. Well, that didn't fucking help me calm the fuck down. I texted her and asked her to call me. I opened the door and Emmett was standing there. He pushed my into my bedroom once he let me step into the hall.

"What the fuck?" I said caught off guard.

He shut the door and turned towards me, his face full of fury.

"I told you to hold your shit together and you fucking get drunk? What the hell is your problem? Can't you fucking do this one thing for me? Can't you just trust that we have this under control. Bella was right. I shouldn't have told you," he said shaking his head and rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Fuck you, Em. You think you're fucking in control all this shit? This shit is so out of control it's not even funny. You admitted you don't even know what the hell is going on for sure. What you do know is making you take your fucking family far away from here. Away from mom, who's going to fucking die when you tell her, by the way. But what about me? Do I need to get Bella out of here? Are we in danger? Are mom and dad in danger? I haven't had the pleasure of being able to think about all this, you know? You two and your fucking secrets made it impossible for me to feel ok about all this shit. I don't even know what my own wife thinks. So excuse me for not being able to act all fucking perfect out there. Sorry I can't laugh it up, talk about stupid shit, listen to mom go on and on about how she can't wait to celebrate Lily's first Christmas next month. I can't act like nothing's wrong when I know it's all wrong." I paced back and forth in front of him like I was a caged animal or something, my hand not leaving my hair.

"Don't you think it's killing me? Do you think I want to break mom's heart? Huh?" he said shoving me lightly. "I want her to enjoy this time with Lily. I want to enjoy my time with them and then I will tell them. Can't you do this for her? Can't you hold it together so mom doesn't need to feel the way you're feeling right now?" I didn't think about it that way. The last thing I'd want is for my mother to feel the way I do right now. I wouldn't want anyone to feel the way I do right now. "As for everything else, _Bella_ has been thinking about all this. If she thought you two needed to leave she would have talked to you, just like I talked to Rosalie. Bella knew you'd go off the fucking deep end if you knew about Aro. I shouldn't have told you." He sat down on the edge of my bed.

"I need to talk to Bella but she's not answering her phone. If she was here, I'd be doing better," I said trying to stay rational about all this.

"She's working on some things," he said, cautiously watching me. "She texted me a little while ago. She's getting some information, but hopefully will be home for dinner."

"She texted _you_?" I snapped incredulously.

"I just said, she's looking into some things. For me obviously. So, yes, she texted me." He stood up and walked to the door. "Would you just pull yourself together? If you can't do that, then sit in here all fucking night. I just can't deal with your drunk ass right now."

I sat on my bed in the spot he just vacated. He closed my door quietly, probably using every ounce of self-control he had left not to slam it. Bella was getting information for him. At work? Was she going somewhere to get this information? I pulled my phone out and dialed her again. Voicemail. I called again. Voicemail. Again. Voicemail. Her phone was definitely on because it was ringing a few times before it went to voicemail. If her fucking phone was off it wouldn't ring. Maybe she silenced it. I decided to keep calling it until she answered. Fuck this information gathering shit.

"Is something wrong?" Bella's voice was full of fear.

"You're not home. That's what's wrong," I said, sounding like a pouting child.

She sighed and but her voice was tight and controlled, "Can I call you back? Now isn't a good time."

"I want you to come home. Where are you?" I could hear a lot of background noise. She was somewhere public at least. No one would shoot her out in public, right? I could hear some music and people talking. A loud clacking noise that I couldn't place.

"I'll be home later. I have to go," she said hurriedly.

"No, where are you? Tell me, so I can stop worrying. Emmett told me, Bella. Emmett told me about Aro and Tanya. Where are you?"

"Fuck," she said loud enough that I could hear even though she wasn't speaking to me. "I have to go. Please relax." She sounded frustrated. She wanted me to relax? Was she fucking nuts?

"Where are you, Bella?"

"I'll see you soon, I promise."

From the background a voice stood out, "Izzy B! I got us a table. Let's go! You rack 'em, I'll break 'em."

"Bella," I angrily spat but she didn't hear me. She hung up. I knew exactly where she was. She was out with that fucking son of a bitch. She was hanging out and playing pool with that fucknut? I sat on the bed trying to figure out why she would tell Emmett she was getting information but instead was out with James but I was going to find out.

* * *

BPOV

We decided to go to a bar near the station that had some pool tables and some decent happy hour specials. James held the door open for me and grinned as I walked through rolling my eyes. We took a seat at the bar and ordered a couple strong drinks. I couldn't have him nursing a beer all night. I got us a couple shots, too, claiming we needed to celebrate the closing of the Cheney case last week. I was small but I could drink a lot of grown men under the table. Genetics or something like that. My mom had to drink a ton to get shitfaced properly and even though my dad would drink Vitamin R like it was going out of style, I don't think I ever saw him act intoxicated. I made some good money in college because of my tolerance. Guys would bet their life's savings in a drinking contest with a chick who weighed half of what they did.

"So, if you're not going home for Thanksgiving are you planning on it for Christmas?" I asked nonchalantly.

He shook his head and took a sip of his Captain and Coke. "I don't have any plans to go home."

"What about your mom? Friends? An old girlfriend, perhaps? Someone's going to miss you," I said pushing on his shoulder playfully.

He smiled and narrowed his eyes at me. "No old girlfriends, Izzy. Don't worry, you have absolutely no competition."

"As if you could handle, this," I said sweeping my hands in front of myself. I was trying not to lay it on too thick, but if he thought I was being flirtatious he might play along.

"Oh, I could handle it. At least I'd love a shot," he said wiggling his eyebrows and me and drinking down the last of his drink.

"You're a few months too late, buddy. I already said the big _I do_ in front of God, my family, and friends. There's no shot to be had."

He nodded and got the bartender's attention. He order two of the drink specials and a couple more shots.

"Well, I'll just have to settle for this kind of shot with you, huh?" he said lifting the tequila shot up and tapping it to mine. We drank them down and both grabbed for our lime.

"Seriously, though. You must have some people back in Portland that miss you," I tried again.

"I have some friends and stuff. You trying to get rid of me, Iz? Want me to go back to Portland?" he asked eying me curiously.

"I'm just trying to get to know you. The friends people keep says a lot about them," I said pulling my hair tie out and shaking my hair out so it fell over my shoulders. Hair is a turn on for so many guys, I figured it was worth a try. Based on the fact that James didn't appear to be able to put together a coherent sentence for the next minute or so, I believed I was correct. His hand moved, like he was going to touch it but then he stopped himself and grabbed his drink instead, downing it like a shot and getting the bartender to bring him another.

"What kind of friends do you keep, Izzy? You show me yours, I'll show you mine," he said with a wink.

Ok, tit for tat. Here we go.

"One of my best friends is a wedding planner back in Seattle. She's pretty much the only person I know who is overflowing with the same amount of energy at six in the morning as ten at night. Doesn't matter. The girl like must have super powers because she doesn't even drink coffee or anything with caffeine for that matter. She's like the energizer bunny, maybe the energizer bunny on crack even."

He laughed and took another sip of his drink.

"I have a buddy like that. The guy's been married like two years, has two kids and another on on the way. His wife had twins nine months after the wedding and they have another coming, soon actually. That's what he gets for marrying some Irish catholic chick," he smirked shaking his head. He was talking about Liam. "Even fucking sleep deprived as his ass has to be, he always walks around with a big shit-eating grin on his face. Up for anything."

"Alice and I have been friends since we were kids," I threw it out to see if he'd reciprocate with some more information.

"Me and Liam, too. Grew up together. We were like brothers," he looked down and I could see his face change. He took another drink.

"Alice and I were both only children, I think that's why we got along so well. In fact, all of my friends growing up were only children. I wonder what that says about me?" I joked, hoping I could keep him on this topic and not lose him to whatever talking about Liam and his family might cause.

He looked at me funny and then laughed. "I don't know, Izzy. My best friend has four brothers. What's that say about me? This is your fact finding mission."

I tried not to react to those words. I took a drink and tried to play it off. My phone vibrated in my pocket but I ignored it.

"I think it means you liked having family. Your dad got one when he and your mom split up, maybe you wanted one, too." I didn't have a clue where that came from.

He turned towards me with a shocked expression on his face. "Well, fuck me. Did you just psycho-fucking-analyze me? That was some deep shit right there."

I cocked my eyebrow at him. "Just don't ask to lie down on my couch."

"Oh, come on. I am dying to lie on your couch but we could always lie down in another room if you prefer," he said with another wink.

I combed my hair with my fingers and rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure how much more of that kind of talk I could take. I set myself up for that one, though.

"Did you get along with all of Liam's brothers?" I said changing the subject back.

"Yeah, we were one big happy family, when we weren't causing trouble or making his mom so mad she'd threaten to ban me from the house," he confessed with a laugh, looking lost in his own memories.

"Are you guys still close?" I asked before taking another drink.

"We're, I don't know what we are. We're family but..."

"But what?" I pried, trying to keep him from shutting down.

"Nothing. We're friends. Life just gets in the way sometimes. You and Alice still close?"

"Yeah. She's the best. Alice and Rosalie. They're still my best friends. You remember Rosalie? My sister-in-law. Emmett's wife. Edward's brother's name is Emmett. They live in Seattle, too." Time to throw it out there and see if he bites.

"Yeah," he mumbled and motioned for the bartender. He was clenching his empty glass so tightly I thought he might break it. The young guy behind the bar came running over. "Another round and can we put our name in for a table?"

"Not a problem," the bartender nodded. My phone was vibrating like crazy, nonstop. Someone was really trying to get ahold of me.

"You up for some pool, Izzy? We could play for cash and prizes," he said, putting his playboy mask back on.

"I don't know if you want to do that. You might end up with no money to pay for your cab home," I warned him.

"Well, then I guess we would have to share a ride and I'd have to find a way to repay you," he said sliding off his stool and leaning in close, too close. "I got hit the little boys room, I'll be right back."

His cheeks were flushed and he I could tell the alcohol was taking hold. He walked off to find the bathroom. A couple games of pool and maybe he would tell me some more. He obviously didn't want me to know he knows Emmett and Riley. What I couldn't figure out is why? Why did it need to be a secret? What was with my fucking phone? I pulled it out and saw Edward had called multiple times in a row. Suddenly I felt this wave of anxiety. It buzzed again before I had to dial.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, scared out of my mind.

"You're not home. That's what's wrong," Edward whined.

Oh, man. I was in no mood for this. He had everybody there. Couldn't he distract himself? I sighed and but tried not to show my frustration, "Can I call you back? Now isn't a good time."

"I want you to come home. Where are you?" he asked.

"I'll be home later. I have to go," I said hurriedly. I didn't want to be on the phone with him when James came back.

"No, where are you? Tell me, so I can stop worrying. Emmett told me, Bella. Emmett told me about Aro and Tanya. Where are you?"

"Fuck," I breathed. I was going to kill Emmett when I got home. Aro would love that, right? "I have to go. Please relax."

"Where are you, Bella?" he asked again with plenty of edge to his voice.

I could see James walking towards me. "I'll see you soon, I promise." I dropped my phone from my ear and tried to press the end button.

"Izzy B! I got us a table. Let's go! You rack 'em, I'll break 'em." James said reaching to get his drink with one hand and pulling me off the stool with the other.

"Great."

**A/N: The Angry Pilgrim is a real gag they play on a local station here in Chicago. Everybody's getting drunk. This isn't going to end well. Until next time... **


	28. Chapter 28 Cluing Her In

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. The first song is where James is coming from in this chapter - absolutely not Bella. I heard this one and the one before Edward's POV in my head as I wrote it. More notes at the end...**

_A long time ago in a galaxy far awasted  
I'm basted come on yeah  
I'm in the flow and I got all the flavors you tasted  
With sweat dripping down your little back  
Cause all night long, I said  
All night long, I been thinking  
About how to get your clothes on the floor  
All night long, I said all night long, I been drinking  
I gotta get your panties on the floor  
So let's get it over and just get naked  
With sweat dripping down your little back  
I'm a Holy roller and I own the spaceship  
So let me take you for a little ride  
_Spaceship - Puddle of Mudd

BPOV

"I'm going to warn you, I know how to play. I don't want to be accused of tricking you or stealing your money," I said chalking up my pool stick.

James snickered as he finished off his drink and set it on a little table next to us. His blue eyes twinkling.

"Well, I also know how to play, in fact I used to play a lot. Liam's parents had a pool table in the basement. We had tournaments all the time. So, you'll be lucky if you even get a turn when I break." He pointed his pool stick at me.

"Bring it, bad boy," I said, standing on the opposite side of the table from him.

He leaned over and broke, sending the balls scattering around the table. He dropped two solids. He smirked and walked to the side, chalking his stick.

"Nice break. Did you usually beat Liam and his brothers?"

"We each had our share of wins. Ri-" he stopped himself. "Liam's little brother was pretty damn good. When I beat him, I felt like I could brag."

He hit another ball in the corner pocket and moved around the table, brushing up against me as he passed. He wasn't going to talk about Riley. Maybe he would tell me why he was here. At least say more than he means to.

"We didn't say what we were betting," I reminded him.

"You sure you want to bet after I dropped three already?"

"We are absolutely betting. You have a long way to go. If I win, you tell me why you left Portland," I said quirking an eyebrow.

"Iz, you asked me that already and I told you."

"No you didn't," I said, running through previous conversations. He made a joke but he didn't answer me. "What did you say?"

"Oh, well if you weren't listening then I guess we put it up for bet. Let's see... if I win there's only one thing I want." The way he looked at me made goosebumps pop up all over my arms.

"What's that?" I asked, keeping my eyes on him. I wasn't going to let him rattle me.

"I get a kiss, of course." I could feel my cheeks turn bright red and my shoulders dropped. Holding up my left hand, I pointed at my wedding ring. No words should have been needed. "Oh come on, Izzy. I'm just asking for a little peck. That's it. Totally innocent. See, you know you're gonna lose. All that tough talk about sending me home with no money must have been just that, nothing but talk," he goaded me.

"I'm not going to kiss you, James," I replied, shaking my head.

"Win and you won't have to," he said as he leaned back over the table and hit the blue number two ball in.

He was infuriating. I wasn't going to lose but I sure as hell wasn't going to put a kiss on the line, as if it was a possibility either. "That's not the bet. You have to pick something else."

"Then you pick something else," he retorted, striding back towards me.

"No, I want to know why you left Portland," I said stubbornly.

"Well, I want a kiss. So," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. He leaned over and hit another ball in but the cue ball was in a bad spot for him to hit anything else.

"As co-workers, it's not appropriate for us to bet things like kisses. If you were playing against Jared, you wouldn't ask for a kiss."

"No, I definitely would not," he laughed as he chalked his pool stick and looked thoughtfully at the balls on the table. I could tell he was running through all his possible shots.

"Well, then you can't treat me differently because I'm a woman."

He stopped strategizing and looked up at me. "Izzy, you just don't get it do you?" He shook his head with a huge smile on his face. Leaning over the table, he hit the cue ball and didn't get the number six ball to fall. "Looks like you get a shot at your information after all."

"I'm not kissing you. You better start thinking of something else. Even though it's not going to matter now," I said glaring at him.

Without another word, I proceeded to knock in five balls in a row. He ordered another drink from a waitress that walked by. He had to be feeling it now. I was a little buzzed so unless he had a tolerance like mine, he had to be drunk.

"If you weren't a cop, if you could have a different life, what would you do?" His question made me stop what I was doing. There was a this strange longing in his eyes, like he wanted or needed something from me. I knew he had been watching me the whole time I worked the table but I had tried to ignored his stare. Looking at him now, I felt the intensity of it.

"I don't know. I like my life. I don't really want a different one," I answered honestly.

"What if there was no CK, what if you couldn't be a cop. Just what if? What would you do? What would make you happy?" he pressed, unhappy with my non-answer answer.

What if there was no Edward? Why was he asking me that? I couldn't imagine a life without Edward. He was the light to my dark. I couldn't imagine being anything but a cop, either. It was what I was born to be.

"I really don't know. You're asking me to imagine my life without the things that I love most in the world. I don't know how I could be happy without them."

He sighed loudly, "They aren't the only things you love. There has to be other things, things that you maybe don't think about because you don't have to." He sat on the edge of the pool table, rolling his pool stick between his hands. He was going to have to move if I was going to finish playing. He was sitting so close to where I was standing. I looked back at the table, trying to decide which of the two balls I wanted to hit in next.

"Ok, I like fishing. My dad used to take me fishing and it was actually kind of fun and relaxing. And, I have never told anyone this and I don't know why I'm going to tell you," I rolled my eyes. The alcohol was making me open my mouth more than I liked. "Have you ever seen the movie The Notebook or read the book?" I asked, thinking there was no way in hell he had.

"The one with that hot chick, Rachel McWhatever? The old people die together in the end or something?"

I couldn't believe he knew what I was talking about. Picturing James watching The Notebook caused a whole bunch of unnecessary questions to pop in my head. He was so getting me off track.

"That's the one. Well, remember how she loved to paint and he set up that room for her in the house he bought?"

James nodded but made a face like he didn't get where I was going with this.

"Something about that always appealed to me. In another life, I wish I could learn how to paint. I really enjoy art. It's another thing that makes me like my father; it's the thing that led me to Edward. I think it would be cool to just have the time and supplies to fool around with it. Maybe that's what I'll do when I retire. Buy a house by a lake, paint, and fish. It's stupid," I said feeling utterly ridiculous for telling him that. I dropped my head and let my hair fall like a curtain between us.

James reached up, sweeping my hair over my shoulder. "It's not stupid, Izzy. Nothing that would make you happy is stupid."

He stared at me for another couple seconds and then stepped away from the pool table. This whole thing was derailing on me. I needed to win this fucking game and pray he'd tell me the truth. The way he was talking to me tonight was freaking me out. He has this thing for me. At least that's what I'm starting to believe it really is. Sometimes I think he's messing with me but now I think he really likes me. It's so fucking complicated.

I went for the ten ball and it just missed. Fuck.

James clapped his hands together. "Oh, game back on. I won't screw up again. You might want to put some chapstick on those pretty pink lips."

"I'm not kissing you. You need to pick something else. I am not kissing you," I said poking him in the side with my pool stick.

James worked quickly and dropped the last two solids. Then he chalked up his stick as he walked over to where he would take his last shot. The eight ball was not in an easy spot. He was going to have to bounce it off the side and then into the pocket.

"You need to pick something else," I said as he lined it up. "I'm serious."

James hit the cue ball and it struck the eight ball sending it into the side and then straight for the corner pocket. It fell in and my fist clenched at my side. Then I looked and the cue ball fell into the side pocket in front of me. He scratched. He lost.

"Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me!" James yelled out in defeat.

I unclenched my fist and breathed a breath of extreme relief. James tossed his pool stick on the pool table and snatched his drink up and drank it down way too fast. He was going to be hurting tomorrow if he didn't knock that shit off.

"That's a real shame. It appears you beat yourself," I teased.

He walk over to me and stood directly in front of me, toe to toe. "Go ahead, ask me, Izzy. Ask me your question."

"Tell me the truth, why did you leave Portland and come to Chicago? Don't bullshit me, I'll know. You got special treatment, there has to be a reason why you're here," I pushed, looking him in the eye.

James reached up and brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. Of course my body responded by pinking my face right up.

"There it is, I love how you do that."

Everything about our interaction was making me uncomfortable. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, I could feel it on my face. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The corners of his mouth curled up.

"They sent me for you, Isabella."

My heart started beating rapidly and my breathing sped up as well. I swallowed hard as he opened his eyes to look at me.

"Who's they?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

He cupped my cheek in his hand. His eyes were clouded. He was definitely drunk. "The devil's the one who told me to go but now I think God wanted me to find you. I think he sent me. To save you or so you can save me."

"You have two seconds to get your fucking hands off my wife," a voice seethed behind me.

* * *

_They think they'll get inside her  
With every drink they buy her  
As they all try coming on to her  
This time somebody's getting hurt  
Here comes the next contestant  
Is that your hand on my girlfriend?  
Is that your hand?  
I wish you'd do it again  
I'll watch you leave here limping  
I wish you'd do it again  
I'll watch you leave here limping  
There goes the next contestant  
_Next Contestant - Nickelback

EPOV

I busted out of my bedroom, storming past everyone socializing in the living room. I snatched my keys off the dining room table and grabbed my jacket off the coat rack.

"What's going on?" Emmett called after me.

"Edward? Where are you going?" my mother's voice full of concern followed.

"I'll be back in a little bit," I said opening the door and heading down the stairs.

Emmett was behind me before I knew it and threw his hand out to hold the door to the outside.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Sorry, I can't tell you. It's a fucking secret," I said sarcastically. "Get the fuck out of my way." I pushed his large body and moved him nowhere.

"What are you doing? You can't go running around out there."

"Oh, now I can't go running around? I'm sorry, is there something else I should know? Is Aro is fucking Chicago? Are there people gunning for me? What are the big secrets, Em? Tell me," I raged.

Emmett let go of the door and stepped back. He had a this totally remorseful look on his face. "I didn't want you to leave. If you're leaving because of me, I don't want you to leave. I'm sorry for what I said."

The door to Mrs. Cope's condo opened and the nice lady came out, startled to find the two of us standing in the hall.

"Hi," she said sheepishly. She looked at me, then Emmett, then back at me. I was standing in her way and she obviously wanted to go out.

"Hey, let me get that for you," I said. I opened the door for her and she walked through, turning red and ducking her head.

"Thank you," she squeaked. Poor Mrs. Cope, I was going to be the death of her.

"I need to go out, I'm not leaving because of you," I said stepping out and looking back at Emmett. He looked worried and frustrated but he let me go. I wasn't leaving because of him. I was leaving because my fucking wife was fucking around with her fucking partner and I was fucking pissed. I didn't want to wait for a cab opting instead to head around back and take my own car.

There was a bar by the station that had pool tables. I had met Bella there a bunch of times after work to play some pool with her and the guys. That had to be where she was, where she was with him. I had to drive up and down a couple side streets until I found a spot to park. I accidentally bumped the car in front of me as I tried to parallel park, something I wasn't great at fucking sober. I got out the car and walked to the front to make sure there was no damage, which there wasn't. Walking towards the bar, I couldn't wrap my head around what my wife was trying to pull. She told Emmett she was doing something for him but instead she was out drinking and playing pool with a guy she claimed she hated. It didn't make sense.

My world made even less sense when I walked in the fucking bar and found my wife standing much to close to her asshole partner. His hand was on her face and it looked like his eyes were closed and he was smiling. Did I fucking miss something here? Why were his eyes closed? Did he fucking kiss her? He opened up his eyes and said something to her as he cupped her cheek in his hand. I pushed my way through the crowd, not really caring who I was knocking over or who's fucking beer I was spilling. I was going to kill someone tonight.

"You have two seconds to get your fucking hands off my wife," I sneered, blood pumping adrenaline through my veins at record speed.

Bella swung around and looked at me. "Edward. What- God, don't- This is not what it looks like," she stammered, stepping towards me.

"CK. You got a tracking device on this girl of yours or something?" the asshole asked, smirking at me like he wanted me to kill him right here in a crowded bar.

"Shut up," Bella said as she turned her head towards him. "Edward, let's go home." She grabbed her jacket off a nearby stool and took my arm, attempting to push me back the way I came.

"Well it looks like I interrupted something. I didn't mean to spoil your special little moment here."

"You spoil everything, CK," James said, fists clenched. Just what I wanted. I hoped he wanted the fight as much as I did.

"James, shut the fuck up!" Bella shouted. "Edward, come on, I will explain everything. Come on, let's go." She was pushing me again and I stumbled backwards a bit. I wasn't leaving yet. I steadied myself and held my ground. My eyes stayed focused on the face I was going to thoroughly enjoy making bloody in a few minutes.

"Didn't you hear her? She told you to go," he taunted.

"I told you to shut up, too. Can one of you listen to me, please?" Bella tried to stand in between us. She touched my face but I didn't want to look at her right now. I wanted to keep my rage focused on the one that I could hit, the one I could inflict some physical pain on. "Edward. Don't listen to him. Just look at me. Let's go. I will tell you everything. Everything, honey."

I didn't need to know everything. I needed a release.

"I'm not leaving, Bella. Not until I wipe that fucking smirk off his face."

"Please," Bella pleaded.

"Yeah, please. I would love to see you try, you pretty boy piece of shit." He took a step closer and I pushed Bella to the side.

"Stop it!" she shouted again, pushing her way in between us. "James. Back the fuck off. Now! Edward, outside, now! Look at me. Look at me!"

I relented and dropped my eyes to hers.

"He is not worth it." I looked back at him and his smug expression. "Look at me, Edward." My eyes when back to her. "He is not worth it. He is not worth getting arrested and if you start a fight you will get arrested. Please. Just come with me. We'll talk about it all. _All_ of it. Ok?"

"You gonna let her stop you? I bet you do everything she tells you, don't you, CK? We know who wears the pants, don't we?" he provoked me.

"This is your last warning. Shut. The. Fuck. Up," Bella pointed a finger in his face.

"I really wanted one more game, Izzy. I'd win if we played one more time. Then I could cash in right here in front of CK. It would make my whole fucking night."

She turned her back to him and grabbed my arm again, "Please, let's go. Please."

I stepped back with her and started to leave. He wasn't worth it and she was going to tell me everything. She was going to explain this shit first and then she was going to tell me everything.

"You listen so well, CK. I bet that's why she likes you so much. You're fucking leash is so short. She's too much woman for you."

She pushed me around so my back was to him now as well. He followed us as we walked. People had picked up on our little disagreement and were staring and stepping out of our way.

"I just have to know. Does she at least let you fuck her or does she strap one on and take care of that kind of stuff, too?"

Before I could react, I felt Bella's hand drop from where she was gripping my arm. When I turned, all I saw was her fist connecting with his jaw and his head flying backwards.

"Shut the fuck up!" she screamed. Her hand was back on my arm, pulling me out of the bar. Looking over my shoulder as we walked out I could see him rubbing his jaw and smiling.

I have never been so fucking pissed off in my whole life and surprisingly, I was pissed at her.

"I'll get a cab," she said stepping to the curb and holding her arm up.

"I'm not getting in a cab with you," I said shaking my head.

"I swear to you. I was not here trying to have fun. I was doing exactly what Emmett told you I was doing. I'll explain everything." She turned back to the street and hailed a cab. She opened the door and got in. "Edward, come on."

I didn't move.

"Come on," she said again, but I was not getting in a cab with her.

She slid out of the cab and after asking the driver to hold on a second, stood in front of me.

"Please come home with me. Come on."

"I'm not coming with you, Bella. I am so fucking pissed at you right now, it's not even funny."

She walked over to the cab and apologized, telling him to go.

"I don't want to do this out here on the sidewalk. I was here because it was part of the plan. Part of what Emmett and I have been looking into."

She didn't get it. James got it. I got it. She treated me like a fucking child. She treated me like I wasn't the man in this fucking relationship. She sure as hell didn't treat me like I was her fucking equal.

I shook my head at her. "Do you even know what you just did? Do you even get how you made me look in there?" I asked her, seeing no signs of understanding in her eyes.

"I was not fooling around with him. I wasn't enjoying what was going on there. I was playing him. Trying to get information," she tried explaining but she wasn't getting it.

"That's not what I'm talking about, Bella. You don't fucking get it. You just made me look like a fucking chump in there. You completely emasculated me. You fucking threw a punch at him after you told me he wasn't worth it, after you begged me not to fight him. When he disrespected me, when he overstepped his bounds with you - I was told not to defend your honor. I was told not to stand up for myself. But he comes after me and you fucking turn around and pop him one, like you need to come to my fucking rescue. Like poor little Edward can't fucking defend himself? He needs Badass Bella to do it for him? Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"

She raked her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face as the wind whipped it around. Finally she seemed to get it, I could see her face register what I was telling her.

"Edward, I didn't-"

"You did, Bella. You've been treating me like a fucking second class citizen for awhile. You act like I'm not man enough to know what's going on in my own fucking home. You keep shit from me. You lie about stuff."

"I have not lied to you! I have kept things from you that I thought were better said once I knew more. I have not lied!" she interrupted.

"I can't do this anymore. I can't fucking feel like you don't think I'm worthy of being your partner in all this. So, I'm not getting in a fucking cab with you. I'm not."

"Edward, that's not how I feel. I'm trying to keep you safe. I'm trying to keep you from stressing out-"

"Ha! News flash baby, it's not working. You are doing nothing but making me stressed out. Do you hear yourself? You aren't my protector. You aren't in charge of my fucking safety, Bella. I'm a grown man. I don't need a mother or a fucking babysitter or a guardian. I need a wife. That's all I need. More than that, I need to not be around you right now." I stormed off towards our car. She didn't follow. I needed to go somewhere, I needed to get away from all this fucking bullshit.

Once inside the car, I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself the fuck down. I needed another drink. I needed a cigarette. I got out of the car and jogged over to the Walgreens on the corner. I bought a pack of cigarettes and walked back to the car. I hadn't smoked in the longest fucking time but tonight seemed like a good night to start again. I pressed the lighter in and unwrapped the pack while it heated up. I turned on the car and lit the cigarette before pulling out of the spot. I started driving. I wasn't even thinking about where I should go. I smoked and I drove until it hit me. I knew exactly where to go. There was one place I could go. There was someone who thought I was a real man. Someone who saw me as more than some poor, helpless child.

I drove until I got to her house. Shoving my pack of cigarettes in my coat pocket, I got out of the car and walked to her front door. She'd be surprised to see me but would welcome me in, I knew that much. I rang the doorbell and ran my fingers through my hair while I took one more long drag off the cigarette hanging from my lips. I dropped it on the front stoop and rubbed it out with my foot as the door opened.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite man in the whole world. I'm not sure what you're doing here but I'm not complaining. Come on in," she said with a big smile. She swung the door wide open and I stepped inside.

**A/N: Oh my. I know you got something to say about that. I actually clapped for myself when I finished this chapter. I had this one planned out forever and am so happy it's out there. Next chapter is Bella only. So two chapters until we go inside with Edward. Sorry! Hee hee hee.**


	29. Chapter 29 Regret

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter and all the new Story Alert adds. You guys are awesome. We'll get back to Edward after we find out what Bella has to say about the whole thing. **

BPOV

I watched Edward walk away, unable to move from the spot where I stood. He had unleashed on me and I could only stand there, stunned by his words and his pain. My hand was throbbing from hitting James but now I wanted to punch myself. My attempt at keeping Edward from being hurt was futile. I was hurting him. Infuriated with myself, I didn't go after him. My heart clenched as he turned down a side street and out of view. I turned toward the street to hail a cab as tears threatened to fall from my eyes. He had to be going home. I would explain myself the best I could, make him understand that I foolishly believed I was doing the right thing. He had been so full of anxiety the last few weeks. I was trying to not add more things to his list of worries, at least not until I knew what he should for sure be worried about in the first place. My evasiveness had done the complete opposite of what I had intended to do, though.

When I got home, Alice was the first one to greet me at the door.

"Bells!" she squealed as she threw her arms around me. I hugged her back. She had no idea how much I needed that. I needed someone to tell me everything was going to be ok because right now I felt like my life was spiraling out of control. Alice released me but Esme was right behind her ready to give me a hug as well. Then Carlisle, then Jasper. They were all here and Edward was not. I was hoping he wouldn't be long. Maybe I could send them to dinner while Edward and I stayed back to talk about everything.

Emmett eyed me warily. He could tell by the look on my face something bad had happened. He had no idea how bad it was. Alice was talking a mile a minute and I was trying to pay attention but it was a lost cause. Rosalie was also aware that something was off. She stared at me like she was trying to suck the thoughts right from my head. If only she could read minds, then I wouldn't have to speak but she would understand and tell me everything was going to be ok.

"Do you guys mind if I talk to Em for a second? I don't mean to be rude. We just need a minute," I said interrupting something Alice was saying about wedding pictures and not enough of something. Everyone sat silently, all of their faces now wearing a look of concern.

Emmett and I walked back to my bedroom, leaving them to exchanging curious looks and whisper about what might be the matter. I closed the door.

"What happened? Why do you look like that?" Emmett asked right away, pulling me in for one of his big brother hugs.

I couldn't hold it in any longer. I broke down, sobbing into his chest. He squeezed me tighter and rubbed his big hand up and down my back.

"Shh, don't cry, Bells." He held me while my shoulders shook and I let it all out.

"Did he do something to you? I told you to flirt but if he took that as an open invitation, I swear to God I will kill him," he said as he tightened his grip on me.

He thought I was crying about James. My mind couldn't even process what happened with James yet. I shook my head against his chest as I tried to regain enough composure to speak.

"Did he figure you out? Does he know that we know?" he asked, his voice thick with worry. He pulled back from me a little and tried to get me to look at him.

I shook my head again. "I'm not crying about James. I'm crying because of Edward."

"Edward?" he repeated, pushing me back but still holding me tightly by the arms. He bent down so his face was even with mine. "What did he do? Fuck. This is all my fault. What happened?"

I wiped my face and tried to slow my breathing down. "I don't know how he found me but he did. To him, it probably looked like I was on a fucking date. I should have told him what I was doing tonight." I shuddered at the thought of what Edward had seen.

"Come on, Bella. You know Edward would have freaked if he knew James was part of all this. He probably wouldn't have let you go to work all week."

"I should have told him, Em, instead of letting him think I was fooling around with James. Instead of making him feel like I think he's a child."

Emmett was shaking his head, "I should never have let him leave. I didn't know he was going after you. I thought he was just pissed at me." He let me go and put his hands on his head.

"He's so angry with me right now. And he's right, too. I treated him like he doesn't have a stake in all of this," I said as I rubbed my eyes. I winced at the pain shooting through my right hand.

"What's the matter?" Emmett asked as he watched me look at my hand as I gingerly open and closed it. "What did you do to your hand?" He took it in his and pressed gently on my swollen knuckles. I hissed and pulled my hand away.

"I punched James." I hoped I didn't break anything. I really hoped his jaw was hurting worse than my hand.

"Bells, you and Rosalie are going to be the death of me!" he exclaimed disapprovingly.

"He deserved it and so much more. I probably should have let Edward beat his ass but," I paused and shook my head at myself. I was going to say _but I needed to protect him_. No wonder Edward was so mad at me. It's like I can't stop myself from feeling like I have to be the one to keep everyone safe, to keep him safe regardless of my own safety.

"But what? You took care of him yourself?" he smirked.

"Of course, and in the process made your brother feel like I don't think he's man enough or something. I fucked this all up."

Emmett snorted. I didn't know how he could find any humor in this at all. He gave me another hug. "Let's go put some ice on that hand. Where's Edward now, any way?"

"I don't even know. He wouldn't come with me. He said he couldn't be around me right now," I said as the tears began to well again and the lump in my throat made it hard to talk.

"Let's call him and get him home. We'll get some dinner, send the rest of this crowd to the hotel, and the four of us - you, me, Rosalie, and Edward - will talk this all out. We'll put everything on the the table for the two of them. No more hiding."

That sounded like a great plan but Edward wouldn't answer any of the calls I made over the next half hour. He didn't answer any of the calls Emmett made or the ones we made on his mother's phone.

Carlisle had wrapped my hand and luckily didn't ask too many questions. He was so kind to me and obviously jumped to the conclusion that Edward was in the wrong. He started making comments after I made my third attempt on Esme's phone.

"The boy should have enough sense to answer the phone knowing we're all on edge. This is just like him, thinking only of himself," he vented in frustration.

"That's not true. He's upset with me. He knows all the calls are from me no matter who's phone they're coming from. Edward has good reason to need some space," I defended. "Thank you for letting me try, Esme," I said handing her back the phone with a frown. She smiled back sympathetically.

"Well, I can leave him a message so he knows it's me and that I think his behavior is ridiculous. He has guests and he's being rude to them and to his wife," Carlisle said as he pulled his own phone out.

"Dad, you're not helping," Emmett said, grabbing his dad's hand with the phone in it. He could see that Carlisle's negativity was only making me feel worse, not better. I didn't need people siding with me against Edward. I wasn't against Edward. This was my fault, Edward didn't want to be around me because of the thing I had done.

I turned to look at everyone, "It's me who should apologize to all of you. I'm so sorry I made a mess of things the same day you all got here."

"Let's go get some dinner," Emmett suggested, trying to shift the focus. "He's a big boy. When he cools off, he'll come home."

We headed out to get something to eat. That's when I noticed the car was gone. Emmett had told me Edward was drinking before he left. _Great._ He was angry, possibly still drunk, and driving around the city. I pulled out my phone and texted him, asking him to let me know he was safe. That's all I needed to know for now.

I was distant all through dinner. Alice and Rosalie talked and laughed. I watched them but didn't join in. Alice was so full of energy. She and Rose had gotten even closer over the last year. They spent a lot of time together in Seattle, especially since Rose had Lily and wasn't working all the time. Alice was going to be distraught over Rosalie and Emmett leaving. A lot of good I'll do her here in Chicago. I could barely bring myself to look at Esme. She was sitting with Lily on her lap. The woman was the best grandmother ever. Her love for Lily was evident in every word, touch, and look. The bittersweetness of the whole thing made it difficult for me to eat; I felt sick. Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper were discussing football, laughing and arguing over who would be making it to the playoffs this year. The impending loss of Emmett, Rose, and Lily was almost enough to send me running to the bathroom in tears. Add to that the guilt I felt over the fact that Edward was not here and I was a mess. I kept checking my phone, hoping I somehow missed it vibrating in my pocket.

Once we got home, I flopped on the couch contemplating if I should call dispatch and see if there had been any fatal car accidents called in over the last couple hours. Rosalie went back into their bedroom to put Lily down for bed. The others had gone to the hotel for the night. Emmett sat down in the chair and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Do you want to talk about what happened with James?" he asked quietly.

I threw one of my hands over my head and held my phone in the other, willing it to ring.

"We talked about Liam and his family. He called him his buddy but said they _were_ like family. He got choked up a couple times when he mentioned Riley, didn't mention Riley by name, but talked about Liam's younger brother. He was purposely not saying his name. He doesn't want me to know about the connection."

"Ok, well. We knew they knew each other. Interesting that he doesn't want you to know. Why would it need to be a secret?" He looked at me confused.

I sat up and rubbed my face with my hands. I hadn't thought about James since we left the bar. The memory of him touching me and telling me _they_ sent him for me came flooding back. I dropped my hands.

"He was drunk. Maybe too drunk by the end of it all. But when I asked him why he came to Chicago he said _they_ sent him for me," I said, checking Emmett's reaction.

"_They?_ They, who?" he asked, looking slightly panicked.

I shook my head, "He said the devil sent him but he thinks God wanted him to come and save me or for me to save him, something like that. Then Edward showed up and I didn't finish with him."

"The devil?"

"He was really drunk," I said pulling my hair back, away from my face. "He's into me. He is really into me. The things he says and the way he looks at me is way more than just innocent flirting or ignorant teasing. He looks at me like I make him so sad sometimes. Tonight, the way he was looking at me was so intense, like I'm something he needs to have, to possess. It freaks the shit out of me now that I think about it."

Emmett cracked his knuckles as his face turned red, "Bells, that isn't good. You're calling your captain. You can't work with this guy anymore."

"Isn't that what you said Edward would say? He would've been right, see?" I grumbled. Edward was just trying to protect me, like I've been trying to protect him.

Emmett shook his head, "You think he was just talking figuratively about being sent by the devil?"

"Well, I'm sure he wasn't actually sent by the devil, Em," I responded, rolling my eyes.

"What about the other devil?" he asked almost in a whisper, like he didn't want Rosalie to hear or he didn't want the devil himself to hear us talking about him.

"The other dev-" I was going to question him but then it was all so clear. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand.

Emmett turned white as a ghost right in front of me. James said the devil sent him but God wanted him to save me or for me to save him. What if Aro sent James but he fell for me? Was he sent here to kill me?

I jumped up off the couch and started pacing the room. James. What did I know? He was a real cop. He had worked hard this last month on the Cheney case and the ones we worked this week. He was a good cop. However, he got the job under unusual circumstances, even the captain didn't know why. He's a long time family friend of Riley Cummins, who we believe was killed accidentally by the Volturi. He should hate the Volturi. They killed his friend's brother. We should be on the same side, it didn't make sense.

"Aro probably got Riley killed. James wouldn't do Aro's dirty work if that were the case, would he?" I needed Emmett to say I was right. I didn't want to think James was sent here to get me for Aro.

"Good point," he nodded, the color returning to his cheeks.

James. Riley. Aro. What the hell was I missing? I need a fucking evidence board to keep all this shit straight. I did better when I had the visuals in front of me. I needed pictures so I could find the connection, make sense of all the pieces that alone didn't tell me what I needed to know. James. Riley. Aro.

I stood in front of the breakfast bar. I grabbed a pen and shuffled through some stuff for a piece of paper. There was a piece of notebook paper under some junk mail. I was going to use it to write things down when I noticed Edward had written something on it. _Cummins - Portland_. James. Riley. Aro. Portland.

I turned towards Emmett. "You need to get the list." I couldn't believe I didn't think of it before. I knew I was right without the evidence. The list would confirm what I was hoping wasn't true.

Emmett looked at me with a furrowed brow. "What list?"

"The fucking list, Em. You and Riley were fighting about the information you had on possible Volturi insiders in Portland. Shit! How did I not think of this before? If James' name is on the list, it makes sense why Riley was so defensive. What if Riley was trying to protect James?"

Rosalie came out of the bedroom, ending our conversation for a moment. Emmett and I exchanged looks. He had told Rosalie more than I had told Edward because he had to explain why they were going to disappear but he hadn't been telling her everything. I don't know that she wanted to know everything anymore. She wasn't like Edward. She was starting to see the benefit of not knowing.

"Are you guys all right?" she asked warily.

"We're ok, baby. Come here." Emmett reached out and pulled her onto his lap. He kissed her cheek. Jealousy overwhelmed me. I remembered they fought over Rosalie punching Victoria but that was a completely different scenario. Emmett didn't feel the need to run away from her. She didn't do anything to him. She didn't make him feel like a "chump" as Edward so clearly felt I had done to him.

I looked at my phone again. Where was Edward and why couldn't he just tell me he was ok? What if he went back to the bar after I left and got into it with James? If James was working for the Volturi he might jump at the chance to hurt Edward. He hated Edward. Maybe he hated Edward because he's Emmett's brother and it's possible Riley died in place of Emmett. He did seem to hate Edward from the get go. I dialed Edward's number again. Voicemail. I snapped it shut angrily.

"Bells," Rosalie said to get my attention.

I sighed and set my phone on the breakfast bar.

"What if something bad happens to him and the last words I hear in my head are him telling me he can't stand to be around me? What if the last thing he remembers is James touching me?" my voice cracked and I could feel the tears coming.

My phone vibrated on the counter. My heart leapt in my chest and I grabbed my phone. It was thankfully a text from Edward.

_I'm alive. Will see you tomorrow._

I was relieved and disappointed all at the same time. He was fine but he wasn't going to come home tonight. The tears that threatened a moment ago because I didn't know where he was, now fell because he was ok but didn't want to be with me.

Rosalie didn't want to know what Emmett and I had been talking about. The three of us tried to watch some television but in the end decided to go to bed early. Emmett and I figured Thanksgiving was going to make it difficult for us to get anymore information. The list was not going to be something we were going to be able to get someone to check until Friday. Emmett asked me to consider calling the captain before I went back to work on Monday. Captain wanted to know if there was trouble. I should take him up on his offer to help.

I set my gun on my nightstand and got ready for bed. Sleep eluded me most of the night. I laid there, staring up at the ceiling wondering where Edward was. Wondering if he was still mad at me. I tried to imagine he was awake like me, unable to sleep without him next to me. I switched pillows, pressing my face into his. I could smell him, his special Edward scent. No man could ever smell as good as my husband does. I turned the pillow so I could lie on it like I did his body, wrapping myself around it. It was a poor substitute but all I had.

Around 3AM I tried listening to music. I turned on Edward's clock radio but every song I heard made me feel worse. It was like someone was trying to tell me something.

The first channel was playing Over My Head by The Fray when I switched it on.

_And suddenly I become a part of your past  
I'm becoming the part that don't last  
I'm losing you and its effortless_

Not what I needed to be thinking about. I switched the station only to hear Pink singing Please Don't Leave Me.

_I can be so mean when I wanna be  
I am capable of really anything  
I can cut you into pieces  
But my heart is broken  
Da da da, da da  
Please don't leave me  
_

I needed to change that right away. No more pop stations. I hit the preset to the next station. It didn't matter that it was a hard rock station. I was picking up on a distinct theme for the evening, as Three Days Grace came on.

_I hate everything about you  
Why do I love you?_

I turned the damn thing off, resisting the urge to throw it across the room and shatter it into pieces. I mean, come on! There wasn't one station playing something completely inane like Boom, Boom, Pow or even that fucking Taylor Swift song they play on a constant loop? Or what about something that would give me a little hope? I went back to staring at the ceiling. My mind drifted. Edward probably was somewhere asking himself why he loved me. He was probably thinking he'd be better off without me because I was mean and I could cut him down without even thinking about it. I had to stop myself from going down that path. Shifting my thoughts to James, I could feel my heart pound a little harder. James was in Chicago for me. The devil sent him. I really didn't want to think about that either. As much as I didn't want to tell Edward this bit of information, I was going to. I was going to tell him everything tomorrow when I saw him again. I won't keep anything from him again. I will prove to him that I believe he is man enough to deal with what is going on. This would be the last time I would sleep without my husband by my side.


	30. Chapter 30 Understanding Isabella

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Now without further delay I answer the question everyone's been asking. Where the hell is Edward?**  
EPOV

"_Well, if it isn't my favorite man in the whole world. I'm not sure what you're doing here but I'm not complaining. Come on in," she said with a big smile. She swung the door wide open and I stepped inside._

I felt bad coming here, knowing I was so angry and not right in the head, but I needed to have someone tell me I was the fucking man. She always does that for me.

"You know, it hurts me when you say that to him. You're supposed to love me," Phil said as he walked into the foyer from the family room. He planted a kiss on Renee's cheek and she pushed him away playfully.

"Oh, please! You know I love you but it's Edward, honey. _Edward_. He makes living vicariously through my daughter so enjoyable. I'm such a cougar, aren't I?" she asked with a laugh. Renee's laughter was infectious and it sounded so much like Bella's. It made me want to smile and cry all at the same time tonight.

"How she doesn't make you to run away screaming with her comments is beyond me, Edward," Phil said patting my arm.

I shrugged. Renee was completely harmless. Her comments about my good looks and my hot ass were much more embarrassing to Bella than to me. Renne usually just made me laugh.

She put her hands out to me, "Give me your jacket, hon."

I handed her my coat and felt the need to explain my appearance at her doorstep. "Bella and I got in a fight. I didn't know where else to go."

"I figured, seeing as how you smell like my greatest temptations." She inhaled deeply as she leaned into me. "Ah, beer and cigarettes. Come on in and tell me all about it."

I knew I could count on Renee to take me in. She always made me feel better. I needed to feel better because right now my heart was hurting so badly.

"We ordered pizza, there's a little left. Did you eat?" Phil offered as we walked further into the house. They were both so welcoming. My father would have laid into me about showing up unannounced, smelling like a brewery.

"I haven't eaten, thanks."

We walked into the dining room and sat around the table. Renee lived in a quaint little three bedroom bungalow in Oak Park. She and Phil were not living together, officially, but he was here whenever we came over. I didn't think about him being here tonight but it made sense, seeing he'd be spending Thanksgiving with us tomorrow. We made small talk while I ate. We talked about the pizza, the weather, and my parents' arrival.

On the way over here, my phone rang over and over. First it was calls from Bella's phone, then it was Emmett, and finally she started resorting to calling me on my mother's phone. I wasn't going to talk to her tonight. While I sat with Renee and Phil, she texted me. I wasn't ready to respond to that either.

"I didn't mean to spoil your quiet evening together," I apologized after putting my phone on vibrate.

Renee chuckled at me. "Edward," she shook her head, "seriously." Renee would do anything for me. That was why I came.

"I am going to go downstairs. Watch some TV. I'll leave you guys alone to discuss the beautiful Isabella," Phil said, getting up from the table. He gave Renee another kiss on the cheek and patted me on the shoulder before retreating to the basement.

Renee got up and opened the refrigerator. She placed a bottle of water down in front of me with a knowing smile. She knew I had been drinking. Something she hadn't done in over six months now. Renee looked fantastic. Taking care of herself was really paying off - her eyes sparkled, her skin glowed, and her head was clear - if you could call it that. Alcohol wasn't the only thing that made Renee, well, _Renee_.

"So, what's up buttercup? You look like my daughter stomped all over your heart and that does not make me very happy with her right now," she said, sitting down with her own bottle of water.

I tried to tell her the story the best I could. Reliving the night's low points was not much better than experiencing them the first time. Renee listened and didn't make any comments until I was all done.

"And then I decided to come here. I'm tired of feeling like I'm not strong enough for her. She treats me like I'm a child and I'm finished with that," I explained as I messed with my hair.

Renee nodded in understanding. She exhaled loudly, "Well, first I need to make sure you believe her when she said there's nothing going on with this partner of hers, right?"

I nodded. I didn't think she was hiding some crazy affair. It was likely he was more of a danger to her than to my marriage.

"Ok, good, because there is one thing I know for certain and that is she loves you. That is not up for discussion. Now, I don't know what it's like to be married to my daughter but I do know what it was like to be married to her father. Isabella and her father were cut from the same cloth so I imagine being married to her is a lot like being married to Charlie." Saying his name out loud always made Renee look sad. It had been years since he passed away but her love for him would never fade.

We decided to move out to the family room, make ourselves more comfortable. We sat on the couch and Renee curled one leg underneath her.

"Isabella is a cop. First and foremost, that is what she is. Being a police officer isn't like being an accountant or being a waitress. Cops don't go to work and do their job and then come home and shut that part of themselves off. They can't. At least that was how Charlie explained it to me. They are more aware of things that go on around them; they are more in tuned to the possibility of danger. They are driven to protect."

"I don't need her to protect me. How do I get her to understand that? I don't even know what she thinks she needs to protect me from. She's the one always heading into fucking danger all the time. How much danger am I in at a Cubs game or stupid photo studio?"

Renee snickered and took a drink of her water. "She isn't worried about something happening to you, sweetheart. Well, I take that back. She is but more importantly, she's worried about something happening to her."

I scratched at the back of my neck. That didn't make sense. Bella never seems worried about what kind of trouble she can get herself into. She dives head first, trying to save everyone else. "I'm not following," I admitted.

"We'll go back to that in a minute. What's your biggest complaint? What does she do that drives you absolutely mad?" Renee asked, pulling her other leg up under her.

"She treats me like a damn child. She doesn't tell me things, she fights my battles for me, and she never lets me take care of her the way a man should take care of his wife. It's unbelievably frustrating," I answered with ease.

"And that bothers you, why?"

I cocked my head and frowned. The answer seemed obvious. "I'm not a child, Renee. I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself, I took care of myself for many years before I knew her."

"And she would say the same thing in response to your complaint that she doesn't let you take care of her. She has practically taken care of herself her whole life. I love my daughter but I know I am far from a perfect parent. Isabella learned to be very self-sufficient at a very early age. She's so much like her father. Always trying to keep order, always making sure everyone is ok. She was very serious child. She would indulge me now and then, seeing as how being serious isn't really my style. Truly, sometimes I think the only thing my daughter and I have in common is our impeccable taste in men," she smiled and pinched my cheek. I couldn't help but chuckle. Renee was anything but serious. Seriously goofy, maybe.

"I did love it when she would play along with me, though. I could usually get her to sing along to the songs on the radio with me in the car-"

"My ears really thank you for that by the way," I said sarcastically.

"I didn't say we sang well! I do take some credit for her sense of humor, her sarcasm is all me."

"Yes, thank you for that as well. My bruised ego thanks you for that several times over."

She swatted me with the back of her hand. "When she was really little she'd let me lay with her when she went to bed. She'd let me stroke her hair and tell her crazy fairy tales, even though she knew I wasn't telling them the way they did in the books." Renee mouth curved upwards at the memory. I could see Bella as a little girl, listening to her mother's take on the classics. I imagined Renee's Cinderella had some choice words for her stepsister that weren't in the book.

Renee's expression turned wistful, "But most of her childhood, Isabella was busy trying to make everything ok. When I struggled with my demons, Isabella was the one trying to make things better for me, for her father, for herself."

"You drank when she was younger?" I asked, stupidly surprised by her admission. I don't know why I was surprised. I guess it was unlikely that Renee turned into a alcoholic when she was in her late forties. However, Bella never discussed Renee's drinking except in relation to her most recent troubles and I never pushed her to say anything else on the subject. Renee and I didn't talk about the heavy stuff. We liked to talk about the fun, silly stuff.

"She doesn't talk about that, does she?" Renee asked, fighting her shame. I shook my head and reached my hand out to pat her on the knee. I was so proud of Renee for winning this battle so far. I hoped she knew that.

"I wasn't a complete mess her whole life but I had my _episodes_, in times of stress. When my father died unexpectedly of a heart attack when Isabella was seven, when Charlie and I lost a baby when she was ten, and when Charlie was shot in the leg and had to take some time off when she was twelve - I was out of commission for months each time. There were a few more but those three stand out. I had a hard time coping with tragedy, big or small, and Charlie, bless him, didn't know how to help me. Isabella did everything she could to take care of the two of us. She would cover things up for me so Charlie didn't get upset. She would do the cooking, the cleaning. Every Sunday, that girl would clean the house, top to bottom, spick and span."

I listened, flabbergasted. This was all news to me. Now my mind conjured up a picture Bella as a young girl trying to take care of her wreck of a mother, while trying to make everything look good for her father so he wouldn't worry. Sunday cleaning, Jesus, she still did that, obsessively. Bella spent her life taking care of things for her crazy mother, while at the same time trying to hide how bad it really was from her father, the man she idolized.

"She doesn't think you're a child, Edward. She wants to make the world a perfect place for you. She doesn't want you to worry because she loves you more than anything, just like she loved her father. He adored her, as well. He would have done anything for her. They were never happier than when they were together. They would go fishing or go to the art museum in Seattle, they loved the same things. Well, he loved baseball and she would pretend, I think, like she does now," she smiled and then became quiet for a moment.

I ran my hand through my hair and tried to process everything she was telling me.

"That's why you are so perfect for her. You are this very strange combination of me and Charlie. You have passions similar to his. You adore her, obviously. I see it every time we're all together. It's the way you're like me that causes the problems. You are the light to her dark, _usually_," she qualified. I quirked an eyebrow, not understanding. "You lighten her up. You make her have fun. I imagine that someday when you two have children that the stories you'll tell at bedtime will be much more colorful than the ones in books," she said laughing at the thought. I understood what she meant. I was seriously goofy sometimes, too.

"How does that cause the problems?" I asked, needing to know why being her light was bad.

Renee bit her bottom lip, just like Bella does when she's nervous. She unfolded her legs and pushed herself closer to me. Putting her hand on my thigh, she narrowed her eyes at me. "What is your biggest fear, Edward?"

"My biggest fear?" I asked, taken aback by the question. What did that have to do with anything? I don't like to think about my fear. I hated thinking about my fear. My fear had been consuming me lately and it was driving me insane.

"What is your biggest fear?" she repeated softly.

I sat forward, my forearms resting on my knees. Bowing my head, I dug my fingers into my hair and pulled. I didn't know if I could say it. Renee wasn't going to let me get away without saying it, though. She was being patient with me because she knew what my fear was. It was the same as hers. We both sat in that hospital a year and a half ago and stared at Bella with a bandaged up hole in her chest.

"Losing her," I said just above a whisper, staring at my feet. That was it. That was my only fear. I would never fear anything but that.

Renee nodded. "What would happen to you if you lost her?"

My heart clenched at the thought of it. Why was she asking me to think about this? My leg started bouncing and my hand flew to my hair again. The anxiety that thought caused was painful. My throat felt like it was closing off and I grabbed the bottle of water from the table in front of me.

"Honey, on Sunday when you guys came out here, do you have any idea how many times you touched her where she was shot?"

I choked on my drink and coughed to clear my lungs. Renee patted me on the back.

"What are you talking about?" I rasped.

"Edward," she said looking at me like I was a hurt animal or something. "I counted thirty seven times and that was only after she pointed it out to me. You might not notice how anxious you are but trust me, sweetheart, _she_ does."

Thirty seven times? I touched her scars thirty seven times? That cannot be true. I touch her scar without thinking sometimes, yes. But thirty seven times? That was a fucking lot. It's something I do when I'm feeling worried or when I need to remind myself that she's strong. She survived a bullet to the chest. She wasn't going to leave me. If she left me, I would die. I would want to die.

"What would you do if you lost her?" Renee asked again as if she was reading my mind and wanted me to say it out loud.

I looked at her and felt my chest tighten. I could feel the fucking tears welling up in my eyes.

"I would die," I choked out.

Renee mashed her lips together and rubbed my back. The tears trailed down my face.

"See, that's it. She doesn't want you to die, Edward. She loves you. She loves you so much, but she is who she is. She is going to face down dangerous stuff without hesitation. She is going to help your brother no matter what the cost because they are innocent people in need of help. She needs you to be her light but she knows that her light can be broken. I used to be her light and I broke over and over in the face of stress. That's the problem. This time she knows that she will be the reason for the break. She also knows that means she won't be able to take care of you, because it will mean something has happened to her."

My phone vibrated in my pocket again. I pulled it out and saw Bella's name on the caller id. There was no way I could talk to her. I checked the text she sent earlier. _Just tell me you're safe. Please._ I quickly sent her one so her mind could be at ease. _I'm alive. Will see you tomorrow._

I closed my phone and wiped my face with my hands. Renee was still rubbing my back. It was making sense now. Renee was trying to tell me Bella did what she did because I have been freaking out. The whole year before we got married she pushed me. Pushed me to fill my life with more than just her. She demanded that I care about myself as much as I cared about her. It wasn't until right now, that I realized why she made me do that. Why she needed me to do that. Bella knew her world was dangerous. She knew she would put herself in harm's way, because that is what she did, that was who she was. I was angry with her tonight because she treated me like I wasn't strong enough. Truth is that if something were to happen to her, I wouldn't be strong enough. Just like when Mike Newton fucking shot her. I wanted to die when I thought she was going to bleed out on the floor in front of me. If someone took her from me tomorrow, I would still want to die. I was like Renee. I would be lost in my despair if tragedy struck. Bella took care of her mother time and time again as a child. She picked up the pieces and she tried to keep the world an orderly place so when Renee got better, she would return to a normal life. My beautifully scarred wife wanted to do that for me, too, but unlike the times Renee broke, Bella wouldn't be able to pick up the pieces and make things all right for me while I fought my way out of the darkness. The only thing that would break me was losing her, she wouldn't be there to help me. So she did what she could; she tried to make me care about a world outside of her. She tried to hide the things that would make me worry about her because like Renee said, she is who she is. I couldn't take the cop out of her if I tried. She was also still that girl, trying to make the world an orderly place. She was trying to make it a safe place for me.

"What do I do?" I looked to Renee for answers. "How do I fix this?"

"I wish I could tell you I got it all figured out. But you know I have repeatedly failed at making things easier for her. I can tell you that I thought I would never survive losing Charlie. If it weren't for Bella, I would have drunk myself to death, Edward. I believe that. I wish I could say that I know for a fact that I will never touch the stuff again but the stress of something as stupid as this Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow with your family had me wishing I could get drunk off what I smelled on your breath when you first got here. I am still weak but I pray every night for the strength to make it through one more day."

I wanted to give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be ok, that I knew she was so strong.

"You know she came here Sunday because she worrying about how I'm going to handle everything. She did what she does best and tried to take care of as much as humanly possible so I'll make it through," Renee admitted, obviously ashamed that Bella felt driven to still do these things for her.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry if my family's problems are making things hard on you."

She squeezed my leg, "Oh for heaven's sake, Edward! I'm going to be fine! I'll survive dinner with your family. And I'll survive it sober. I will probably make a fool of myself a few times and my daughter's eyeballs will be oh so tired at the end of the day from rolling around her head so many times, but I'll survive. That was my point, I guess. I thought I would die from losing Charlie but here I am. I'm still alive. I have Isabella in my life. I met Phil. Better yet, I met you. God, what if I never had met you? Gah!" I rolled my eyes and she laughed, the laugh that sounds exactly like Bella's. "I miss Charlie every single day. Terribly. But I survive. You have to believe you will survive your greatest fear. I wish I could tell you how to do that but Isabella will continue to do what she does so she can survive. She will work herself into a tizzy trying to make everything ok for you until you believe."

I leaned back on the couch and let my head fall back. I stared up at the ceiling and tried to imagine a world without Bella. It wasn't a world I wanted anything to do with, to be honest. Believing I could survive in it was not going to be easy. Renee was right, though. That was what Bella needed from me. Otherwise, we would always be playing this stupid game. She didn't think I was a child. She thought I was afraid. I was afraid. _She_ was afraid, too.

"Are you going to stay here or are you going to go home?" Renee asked, leaning back with me.

"I'm going to stay here. I don't want her to see me like this. I need to think about what you said. Maybe in the morning, I'll be better." Renee had given me so much to think about. I turned to look at her; she smiled and winked.

"Are you going to call her at least? Or is that what you did a few minutes ago? She won't be all right until she knows you're ok."

I closed my eyes. "I told her I was ok."

Well, at least you'll be here in the morning to help me get things started in the kitchen. I figure Isabella doesn't need to be slaving away all day. There has to be something I can do."

I opened one eye at her. Renee really should be banned from all kitchens. She should only be allowed near food if she is going to eat it, not cook it.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, pushing me in jest.

"We do want to be able to eat everything, right?" I teased.

"Oh, very funny. I do cook things, you know. Some of them are even safe to eat."

"Safe for humans?" I said scrunching up my face.

She tried to not laugh but she couldn't do it. We both fell into a fit of laughter.

As our giggles subsided, I sat up and turned towards her. "I'm glad I met you, too, Renee. I don't know what I'd do without you, either. I think you are one of the strongest women I know."

Renee bit her bottom lip and then gave me a hug. "Thank you," she whispered into my ear.

"Thank you," I whispered back.

**A/N: I just have to say thanks again to all of you who follow this story. It makes it so worth it to write it knowing people are enjoying the ride. Now about this chapter. Oh people, Edward would NEVER cheat on Bella. Never, never, never. Most of you knew that but feared I would lead him astray. For all the Bella haters, hopefully this makes you understand her and her ways a little bit better. Bella means no harm. She is damaged just like everyone else. Her intentions are always good. Thanksgiving next chapter then we're blowing this thing up. The best parts are yet to come... Hit review and tell me if I have softened you to Bella at least a little bit!**


	31. Chapter 31 Thanksgiving

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter!! You guys are awesome! **

BPOV

"Isabella!" Phil greeted me warmly from my mother's driveway. I excused him for the transgression of using of my full name because he didn't know any better. He followed my mom's example and she only refers to me by that name. I slung a bag of clothes over my shoulder and gave him a little smile. Edward got here early, our car was already parked in the street. I was relieved but worried about seeing him. I didn't wonder_ if_ but _how_ angry he was at me. Jasper and Alice exited the car, while the rest of them piled out of the car behind us.

"Happy Thanksgiving," I said to Phil as he pulled me into a friendly hug. "You remember Alice and Jasper."

"The wedding planner," he smiled, "how could I forget." Alice made an impression on everyone at the wedding. He said hello to each of the Cullens as they walked up.

"Good thing you're here," Phil said, patting me on the back. "Your mother and husband have been in the kitchen all morning trying to 'help out'. But based on the amount of giggling and curse words I've heard, I'm guessing they're probably making more work for you than less. I was just sent to the store to buy some more green beans. I'm not sure what they did to the first ones but according to Edward, it was best if they just started over."

Edward's been here all morning? My mother has been allowed in the kitchen? Both things scared me a little, ok the second one scared me a lot. My heart was beating anxiously as we made our way inside. There was music coming from the family room and as we got closer to the kitchen I could hear them talking.

"I think you have to take the bag of shit out of the turkey before you stuff it," Edward said unsurely.

"Now why the hell do they leave a bag of birdshit in the turkey? That's disgusting!"

Edward started laughing. It was enough to make me cry. His laughter was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.

"Not actual shit. The neck, the organs, shit like that. Jesus Renee, have you really never cooked a turkey before?"

"No, she has never cooked a turkey before and I'm not sure why she's trying to start today," I interrupted, my tone playful not condescending. Edward and my mom turned around at the sound of my voice. My mother was wearing a red apron that said, _Is it hot in here or is it just me? _ Edward had a black one on that said, _My grill's hotter than your grill_. The irony that my mother couldn't cook at all but owned two aprons was not lost on me. Edward was wearing one of Phil's baseball jerseys and his hair was a gorgeous mess. As soon as he saw me, the smile fell from his face, making me feel worse than I already did. He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and then ran his fingers through his hair.

"Isabella, baby! Happy Thanksgiving! We were trying to lighten your load today but I'm not sure we're doing a very good job." My mom hugged me but my eyes stayed on Edward, who suddenly found the spot on the ground in front of him very interesting to look at.

"Happy Thanksgiving, mom." I hugged her back until she pulled away. Phil tossed the bag of groceries on the counter near the door and then walked back out with a head nod to my mom.

"I should go greet our guests," she said taking the cue from Phil. "Edward, you can show Isabella what we've been up to, can't you?" she asked, shooting him a cautious glance.

"I got it Renee," he reassured, turning back to face the counter.

I could hear my mom welcoming everyone else to her home. I slid the bag off my shoulder and set it on the floor.

"I brought you some clothes, but I see you borrowed from Phil, huh?"

Edward placed both hands on the counter and I could hear him taking a deep breath, his back rising with the intake of air. I took off my jacket and tossed it on a stool my mom had sitting in the corner of her tiny kitchen. I didn't know if he was going to talk to me. He knew I was coming; it's not like we could avoid being around each other all day. I pushed the sleeves up on the lightweight sweater I was wearing. Holidays at my mom's were casual. Jeans were totally appropriate. Had we been at Esme and Carlisle's like we were supposed to be, we would have dressed up. Esme liked formal dinners. I might have even worn a dress. Thank God for small favors.

Edward slowly spun around but kept his eyes cast downward, his hands re-gripped the counter. I fought the urge to wrap my arms around him and hold on to him forever. He probably didn't want me to touch him.

I swallowed hard and stepped towards him. "I wish I knew what to say that would make you forgive me."

His eyes met mine directly. "Do I need to forgive you for being you?" he asked. I wasn't sure what he meant. "You don't have to apologize."

"I do because I hurt you. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was -"

"Trying to protect me, I know. You were just being you and I was being me."

I was afraid of what that meant. It was beginning to hurt with every breath I took. I didn't want him to think it was hopeless, that I couldn't change because I was going to try. I was going to try to be better, tell him more, tell him everything.

"Please don't give up on me," I said through labored breaths.

He looked at me with surprise and took a step towards me. "Bella," his voice was so sad.

I felt my heart break. I needed another chance. I needed him. He reached for my hand and pulled me closer to him. I didn't realize I was crying until a tear fell from my cheek. He wiped away the others with his thumb.

My words came out in a rush of fear, "You have to give me a chance, Edward. I'll do better. I'll tell you anything you want to know. All of it. If you want to punch James, I won't stop you. Whatever you want to do. I trust you. Just please, don't give up. I won't let you down again."

He could see the panic in my eyes and heard it in my voice. He held my face in his hands. "Bella. Why would I give up on you? I could never give up. I love you." He let go and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me tightly against him. "I need you to be patient with me. I am trying to do what you need me to do. I don't want you to be worried about me all the time but I know I make it almost impossible."

I closed my eyes and clung to him. His hands made their way through my hair.

"I wish I could say I'm not falling apart at the thought of all this shit that's going on, Bella. I wish I could tell you that I don't have nightmares about something happening to you. I'm a walking contradiction. I tell you I can handle whatever may come but then I freak out at every turn. I fell in love with you because you were strong and independent. I find it sexy as hell that you can kick ass but then when we're faced with this Volturi bullshit I get all pissed off when you do what you do. I know I can't have it both ways. I can't love and hate the things that make you _you_. It's not fair."

I didn't loosen my grip on him. I needed to hold him and be held. He was being so understanding and didn't seem to want to let go of me either.

"Things are bad, Edward. There are things I hid from you because I didn't want to tell you anything until I knew for sure." I spoke into his chest because I couldn't bear to see his face when he heard what I had to tell him. His hold on me tightened ever so slightly at my admission. "We believe that James was sent here for me." Edward nearly squeezed the air out of my lungs. "Edward, I can't breath."

"Sorry," he said releasing me completely. I could see the sheer terror on his face. "What does that mean?"

"James was friends with Riley's brother. Good friends, childhood friends. We think that Riley was covering for James. It's possible James was working for the Volturi in Portland before coming here. I'm not sure what Riley's role in all this was besides trying to keep James out of trouble. But James' interest in me should not to be taken lightly. I'm not taking it lightly anymore. I'm calling the captain tomorrow and telling him what I know."

Edward stepped back and leaned against the counter again. He began manhandling his hair, fighting some very bad feelings.

"We think Aro found Tanya and killed her. We don't think he's done taking out the people he blames for his downfall. If he can find Tanya, he will find Emmett here, if he hasn't already. They're leaving tomorrow. They aren't telling anyone but the pilot where they're going. Howard is helping; he found a former military pilot, someone who will be able to keep this all under wraps. As for you and me, I'm hoping once we make the captain aware of James, we can get some extra protection. Maybe if we can get to James, we can find out where Aro is and fix this whole thing."

Edward's jaw clenched and I could see he was trying to control his breathing. He wouldn't look at me, his eyes were darting around in front of him.

"You plan on being a part of finding Aro?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"If they need me to be. James seems infatuated with me, we could use that to our advantage. I could get information out of him that others might not be able to get. I think he might have been sent here to hurt me-" Edward quietly moaned. He covered his face in his hands. I stepped closer to him and put my hands on his waist. This was killing me. This was what I expected. "But I think he likes me. I think he wants to protect me. Part of me thinks we might be able to turn him against Aro, especially since I'm positive Aro killed his friend's brother. I'm afraid but I'm hopeful at the same time." I wanted to reassure him the best I could.

"Warning, mother and brother entering," my mom said walking in followed by Emmett.

I dropped my hands from Edward, stepping back while he quickly turned away from everyone.

"Everything ok in here?" Emmett asked, putting his hand on the small of my back, his eyes moving from me to Edward's back to me again. I nodded as Edward silently hunched over the counter. My mom walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. She whispered very quietly to him and I saw him nod. She ran her hand back and forth across his back, comforting him with her touch and her secret words. My mom looked back at me and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Everything's going to be ok. Our guests need some drinks and some snacks. So, Emmett and I are here to get those things. I see our friend Mr. Turkey still needs to be stuffed and put in the oven. I know you're better at this than I am Isabella but if we're going to eat that thing sometime today, don't you think you better get it in the oven?"

"I got it, Mom," I replied.

Emmett snaked his arms around my waist and gave me a sideways hug. "You sure everything's ok?" he whispered into my ear. I nodded and leaned into his embrace. Emmett stared at Edward's back. I could tell it hurt him to see Edward distraught. "Mom's asking about you, Edward. She wants to see that you're all right. You'll come out and join the rest of us, right?"

Edward released his grip from the counter and wiped his face with his hand. I know he didn't want Emmett to see him emotional. He cleared his throat loudly, "Tell her I'll be out there after I help Bella."

My mom started loading Emmett's arms with things to bring out to the rest of the family. I noticed Phil and Rosalie standing outside the doorway. My mom motioned for them to come in and handed them bowls of snacks and more drinks. We bought all these fancy flavored waters and plenty of soda at the store on Sunday. It was going to be an alcohol-free Thanksgiving, even though I felt like I could use a real drink right now.

No one spoke except for my mom. "We'll leave you two to get the turkey ready. Don't be long or Esme won't be able to resist the temptation to come back here and help."

With that, they all headed back to the family room. I stepped towards Edward, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing myself against his back. I could hear the quiet conversation out in the other room and the soft buzzing noise coming from the refrigerator. Edward wiped his eyes one more time with his fingers and then grabbed my arms to loosen my hold. He turned around and pulled me back to him. He kissed the top of my head.

"We'll get through it, I'll get through it," he said into my hair. I knew he wanted to believe that but at the same time he didn't believe it yet. "You'll call the captain tonight, not tomorrow. When we get home, tonight."

"Ok." I wasn't going to argue with him. I could do that much for him.

We finished up in the kitchen. Edward and my mother had made the stuffing. Stove Top, not from scratch like I would have made, like I had bought all the ingredients for but at this point I could really care less. I figured they both should have been able to successfully follow the directions on the box. We put the turkey in the oven and I cleaned up a little. The rest of the food could wait a few hours, at this rate the whole dinner would be ready around five.

Edward and I joined everyone else in the other room, holding hands and once again a united front. I could see the relief on Emmett's face. He had apologized to me a hundred times this morning because he felt like this was all his fault. Alice and Jasper were sitting on the couch looking at my mother's stash of wedding pictures. Carlisle eyed Edward when we walked in but thankfully didn't say anything. Esme handed off Lily to Rosalie, to my great surprise, and jumped up to give her son a hug.

"I missed you last night," she said warmly. He hugged her back and apologized softly in her ear. She returned to her spot and happily had Lily returned to her arms.

"Ok, everybody. I know you all know Bella and I were fighting but we aren't any more. I don't want anybody feeling like they have to walk on eggshells around us. Let's not dwell on all the crap that's going on, let's enjoy the day together. Anybody disagree?" Edward said rather energetically with a clap of his hands. No one said anything. "Good."

Everyone looked at us warily but Edward just plopped himself on the couch next to Alice and started making comments about the wedding pictures. Rosalie gave me a questioning glare and I winked to let her know everything was as good as it was going to get.

Our family sat together, laughing and talking. Esme and my mom doted on Lily, making her giggle and make those cute baby noises. Phil, Emmett, and Carlisle talked about the football games that were going to be played today. Jasper, Alice, and Edward snickered together at the wedding pictures. My mom bought a lot of wedding pictures. She got all the funny ones from the reception and practically every picture that had me in it. She was so weird like that. Several pictures of me and Edward were framed and were displayed on the mantel above the fireplace. Rosalie and I sat on opposite sides of the room watching it all, taking it all in. Our eyes met for a moment and I could see the sadness behind the smile she gave me. It was the same sadness I was feeling. I didn't want them to leave tomorrow but I didn't want anything bad to happen to them either. Not knowing where they were or if I would ever get to talk to them again was tough to swallow. I wanted to be able to promise her that I would make this all better for her. I wanted to promise that I would find Aro and make the world safe for her again. But I couldn't promise any of that. I didn't know what was going to happen. I just prayed we'd all make it out ok. Alive.

"Well, since we have lots of time to kill, I thought we could play a game," my mother announced to the entire group. Surprisingly, I was the only one who groaned in response. "Isabella, remember when we would all play charades at Grandma and Grandpa's? You used to love it. She'd beg her Grandma to play."

"Bella? Loved charades?" Emmett's eyes widened and I wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

"Mom, that was when I was, like, five. I don't want to play charades. The football game is starting soon. Let's not-"

"Come on Bells!" Emmett chimed back in. "You afraid you're going to lose another game against me?"

"Shut up, Emmett," I warned.

"When did she lose before?" Alice asked innocently.

"We're kind of in the middle of a battle for world dominance," Emmett poorly explained. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Me and Rose against Edward and Bella in a battle for the title Ultimate Cullen Couple."

Laughter broke out around the room.

"You're having a battle? To see who's the best couple?" Alice asked for clarification. "How exactly do you prove you're the better couple?"

"It's stupid," I said shaking my head.

"Whoever wins of two out of three competitions. We each come up with a competition and if there's a need to go on," he chuckled, thinking there was no way they'd need a third challenge, "we'll come up with one more. Rosalie and I already won the first one." Emmett went on to explain how they won in the Mine Field game, exaggerating how much Edward and I were fighting during the game. _Bastard._ Alice, Jasper, Phil, and my mother thought this was too funny.

"It doesn't sound very fair, Emmett, honey," Esme spoke up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Edward asked suspiciously.

"I just mean, you know, Emmett and Rosalie have, um," Esme looked horrified that she even opened her mouth.

"No, I don't know. What are you trying to say, Mother? That Bella and I couldn't possibly beat Emmett and Rosalie at anything because they're perfect and Bella and I fight?"

Esme tried to backpedal, "No, honey, I'm saying they've known each other longer and have been a couple longer. That gives them an advantage. That's all I'm saying."

"Edward," I cautioned him with a look.

"Emmett and Rosalie fight, too, by the way."

"Well, I'm sure your brother doesn't stay out all night doing God knows what, God knows where, with God knows who, while his wife is left to entertain a house full of people by herself, though, does he?" Carlisle jumped in.

_Fuck. _ I knew he was going to have a hard time keeping his negative opinion to himself. He had been so frustrated with Edward last night even though this was all my fault and I explained that over and over. Carlisle was never going to give Edward the benefit of doubt. Edward was hit hard by his words and actually physically fell back a little in his seat.

"Dad, don't," Emmett pleaded.

"He was here all night. Helping me," my mom spoke in Edward's defense. I couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or just covering for him.

"Actually, I was here because I needed Renee to help me. See, Renee listens to me and understands me. She doesn't judge me or criticize me." Edward was on his feet.

I jumped up to put myself between him and Carlisle. Edward had come here to talk to my mom last night? I could only imagine what was said. Based on how he told me not to apologize, she must have said something in my favor.

"Oh, please. I tried to talk to you, son, and you wouldn't open up to me. Then you took off and didn't give myself or your mother the chance to help you. Don't you point the finger at me."

"No, you're right. This is all my fault, I'm sure. Just like old times, huh, Dad? I'm sorry if I'm not as perfect as Emmett. I'll never be Emmett, but you know what? I'm ok with that. I don't want to be Emmett. This time it's Emmett, in all his perfectness, that has royally fucked up everything!"

"Edward, stop," I put my hand on his chest and tried to get him to look at me.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Carlisle said standing so he could be face to face with Edward.

"Don't say anything else, Edward," Emmett warned.

"Why are you still so jealous of him? Why can't you be happy with what you have? Not everything has to be a competition," Carlisle challenged angrily.

Edward laughed without humor and shook his head. His chest rising and falling under my hand.

"Did you guys know Rosalie got arrested for punching the woman Edward's working for? Broke her nose," I impulsively shouted out, desperate to change the subject.

"Rosalie!" Esme said in surprise.

"Damn!" Jasper exclaimed from the couch.

"Bella! What the hell?" Rosalie seethed.

I shrugged innocently. I didn't think she'd mind talking about the highlight of my fucking year.

"You punched someone and got arrested?"Alice said in shock.

Edward and Carlisle both turned their attention to a very frustrated Rosalie.

"Well, guess what everybody, Edward took naked pictures of Bella," Rosalie sneered in retaliation.

Alice and Esme gasped. Emmett's jaw dropped and Phil covered his ears with his hands like that would push the words out of his brain.

"Rosalie! Jesus Christ!" I screamed.

"What? Oh, you didn't want me to tell people about that? Gosh, sorry!" Rosalie was pissed and her sarcasm was thick.

Edward dared to chuckle until I shot him a look that could kill. He stopped laughing and smiling.

"Did you know he was taking pictures of you?" my mother asked fascinated by the news.

"She knew," Edward answered for me.

"You know what Rosalie, I was just trying to diffuse the situation, I wasn't trying to embarrass you!"

"Well, maybe it's embarrassing to be arrested, did you ever think about that?"

"How did you get her to pose for you?" my mother asked Edward.

"Edward, what were you thinking? What if people see?" Esme looked more embarrassed than I felt.

"I'm sure they were tastefully done. Rosalie must have seen them. I think it's wonderful that he got her to drop some of her inhibitions," my mom argued.

"He got her to drop something," Jasper chuckled from the couch. I could have killed Rosalie.

The room was buzzing with all the unwanted information that had been spilled. Rosalie and I were arguing. My mom and Edward's mom disagreed over the appropriateness of our photo shoot. Edward and Carlisle started in again. Emmett still sat with his mouth open while Phil looked mortified.

"Jasper and I got married in Vegas over Halloween!"

Her voice came out of nowhere but overshadowed all the others. The entire room looked over at Alice and Jasper sitting on the couch. Jasper wore a goofy grin as he put his arm around Alice's shoulders.

"You did what?" Rose and I said at the same time.

"Someone tried to kill Emmett and Rosalie ran away to Chicago with Lily. Everyone seemed to be freaking out and I guess we decided what the hell are we waiting for? Life's too short. You never know what will happen tomorrow. So we drove straight through and got married at a little chapel. We were going to tell everyone we were engaged and have a big wedding next summer but I guess since we're all spilling secrets - surprise!" Alice said with a shrug.

Rosalie and I both went over to her for hugs and congratulations.

"The wedding planner eloped in Vegas? Classic," Phil said from his spot in the corner.

Alice went to get her purse and pulled out her wedding ring she'd been hiding from us. She told us the whole story while the guys all shook hands with Jasper, who was still grinning like the cat who caught the mouse.

"You both know that I wish you could have been there. But it was kind of nice that it was just me and Jazz. It made it - special. But this summer we'll make up for it, I promise. Both of you have to stand up for me. I won't have it any other way. You can be co-matrons of honor."

Rosalie and I exchanged a look that Alice picked up on.

"What? You don't want to share the job?"

"That's not it," I said, shaking my head.

"Well, then why the weird look? You know you two have been acting weird the whole time I've been here. Last night I wrote it off because you were fighting with Edward," she said to me, "but today the two of you are acting weird. You look like someone's dying or something."

Everyone stopped talking at Alice's accusation. Emmett and Rosalie both sighed sadly.

"No one's dying," Rosalie assured everyone. She looked at Emmett who walked over to his mother. He sat down on the floor next to her and Lily. Esme was the one who was going to take the news the hardest.

"I guess it's time to share my secret," Emmett grabbed Esme's small hand and held it in both of his big paws. "Mom, as much as I want to tell you that everything is going to be ok, right now things are very far from ok."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, trying to smile, trying to pretend that there couldn't possibly be something to worry about.

"Rosalie and I are taking Lily and going into hiding. Indefinitely."

The room became frighteningly quiet. Esme stared at Emmett like he just said something in Chinese. She pulled her hand away and smoothed her caramel colored hair while trying to control her emotions.

She smiled but refused to make eye contact with him. Her voice was a little higher pitched than normal, "Well, if you can't stay with Edward and Bella anymore, you should come to L.A. I can help out with Lily. I told you this before. You know you can stay with us as long as you need to, I love having Lily around." Esme turned to Lily who was lying on a blanket gnawing on her little fist. "I love her and you guys. You should come to L.A."

"Mom, we can't come to L.A. We can't let anyone know where we're going."

"What are you saying?" Carlisle sunk down in a chair, his hand moving through his hair, mirroring Edward who was standing near him.

"We have to go and we can't tell you where we're going. Aro is somewhere out there and we have reason to believe he is going to try to find me. He _can't_ find me." He can't find him because he will kill him, even worse, Rosalie and Lily.

Alice's eyes welled up with tears and she grabbed Rosalie's hand, squeezing it tightly. I made eye contact with Edward. I could see his heart was breaking for his mother. He hated seeing her upset, he was very protective of her. Esme picked up Lily and pressed the baby's small body against hers. She kissed her blond head and rubbed her little back.

"When are you going?" Carlisle asked.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" Esme cried out, hugging Lily tighter. "You can't go tomorrow morning! Emmett, sweetheart. You can't. That's not enough time! I don't even get to spend the entire weekend with her? Emmett, no. No."

"Mom," Emmett put his hand on her back as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

The whole room felt the weight of Esme's despair. Edward came over by me and pulled me away from the room. He took me in his arms, no words were spoken. He just needed me to hold him. The secrets were all out there. Now there was only coping with the reality of what we were facing.


	32. Chapter 32 Cat

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Good morning, it's an early post because I can't wait any longer. Time to blow the lid off this thing.**

EPOV

Thanksgiving. The holiday that supposedly celebrates how wonderfully we got along with the Native Americans when the pale faces came over from Europe. I guess that was before we started killing them and forcing them off their land so we could live here instead. What a funny world we live in. Of course, most people see it as another reason to get the whole family together so they can drive each other more nuts before they do it all again a month later at Christmas.

Renee and I should never have taken on the task of getting started on the food. We were the blind leading the blind, but it was a good distraction. I didn't fixate on Bella's arrival and was a little thrown when I heard her voice behind us. She was beautiful, just like always. Tired looking but beautiful. I couldn't look at her because she would see the worry in my eyes. I wanted to be strong for her. I wanted to make her believe that I was going to try to be her light through all of this. I wasn't feeling very light-like, I felt the darkness creeping over me. I wanted to hold her and touch her scar. I needed to control that impulse after what Renee told me last night.

She apologized as soon as we were alone and I didn't know how to get her to see that I was the one that was wrong. I have been mad at her for being what I fell in love with in the first place. What a mixed message I was sending her. She looked scared out of her mind, like I was going to give up and run away. That was not even an option. Then she told me what was going on. When she said James was here for her, I thought I might lose it right there. She said he was most likely working for the Volturi and was here to hurt her. _Hurt her?_ Just hurt her or kill her? I was going to be sick, I was going to fall apart. This is what Renee and I talked about. This is why Bella had been hiding the details. I was the the fucking breaking light.

Renee and Emmett walked in and I couldn't let them see me. I was so damn weak. Renee came over and put her hand on my back.

"She's afraid of something really bad?" she whispered so only I could hear. She must have heard what Bella said just before she and Emmett walked in. I nodded not able to speak. James was sent here by Aro to hurt Bella. That was pretty fucking bad.

"She is the strongest person we know. Tell yourself that over and over. If she's afraid then she needs us more than ever. Lighting up the dark. You can do it."

Renee was right, but not crumbling over this was harder than I imagined. It was what I tried to do, though. Once we joined everyone in the other room, I was focused on having a fun and relaxed day. That didn't last very long. Renee's attempt at lightening things up led to Emmett bringing up the UCC and somehow that landed me in a fight with my father. The next thing I know, Bella and Rose are fighting and telling each other's secrets and all hell broke loose. Alice and Jasper are married and Emmett and Rosalie are leaving. My mother was a wreck and I realized being the fucking light was a hard ass job. Seeing my mother cry was torturous. She was gentlest woman I know, hurting her seemed criminal. I knew it was killing Emmett.

After everyone's emotional meltdown we tried to regroup. The football game was put on and the women decided to set the table and mess around in the kitchen. We ate our turkey squished around Renee's dinning room table.

Alice was telling a story about a bridezilla she had encountered recently and had everyone's attention.

"So, at the rehearsal the bride was on a rampage. I shouldn't have expected any less, considering what the planning process had been like but this was above and beyond. She could not decide how to pair up the bridesmaids and groomsmen, kept switching them around and yelling that their inability to walk down the aisle correctly was going to ruin her wedding day. Finally, one of the bridesmaids lost it. She informed everyone that she would not be attending the wedding the next day and offered the groom her condolences, because tomorrow was going to be his funeral. You do not know how hard it was for me not to laugh. The bride-to-be freaked out. Tackled her now ex-bridesmaid as she was storming down the aisle to leave the church. They started wrestling on the ground while everyone else just stood there, staring. The groom was actually taking bets with the groomsmen on who would win. The priest and I were the ones who had to pull the two girls apart."

Everyone was chuckling at the story. I watched Bella laugh and realized why Alice was her friend. Alice was another light. Always happy, always telling silly stories. She had an endless supply of positive energy. I wished I was as good at this as she was. Bella saw me looking at her and narrowed her eyes at me, questioning if something was wrong. I shot her my crooked smile and she relaxed.

I helped Renee with the dishes. We kind of demanded to do it alone, refused to let anyone else help. We needed our alone time before I left for the night. Renee's presence calmed me. I knew she understood me better than anyone. She was very proud of herself for successfully hosting her first Cullen Thanksgiving. Although, she confessed she kind of hoped it was her last. I promised from now on she would only have to serve as a guest, she didn't need this stress.

"Do I want to know what Isabella was hiding from you? Or am I better off not knowing?" she asked while she washed and I dried the plates.

"Don't put that on me to decide. Do you want to know or not?"

She thought for a moment, washing the dish in her hand longer than it needed it. "Not. I think. It's not good. It probably means she's in some sort of danger. No. I don't think I want to know."

I nodded and we washed and dried in silence for a little bit. Then Renee stopped and turned to me. "Tell me she told you she has a plan or at least that she's going to get some help."

"She's calling her captain tonight. So, yes. She's planning on getting help."

"Good," she said, nodding her head one time. "Everything is going to be fine."

"Everything is going to be fine," I repeated just as falsely confident.

Renee laughed and handed me another plate to dry. "So, you need to explain to me how you got my daughter to take her clothes off while you were holding a camera because I still don't think I believe that one."

I wiggled my eyebrows, "I can be very convincing when I want to be."

Renee blushed just like her daughter does, "Oh my dear Lord, I don't doubt that. The things you and your adorableness do to my imagination are so very wrong. My daughter is seriously the luckiest woman on the planet."

"I'm the lucky one. I got her and you. She got me and a shitload of Cullen drama."

"She loved Rosalie before she knew who you even were, Edward. This would be her drama regardless. You're still a bonus." She flicked some suds at me. Leave it to Renee to find a way to build me up when I could only see the negative.

Emmett and Rosalie were staying at the hotel with the rest of the family tonight, allowing them to spend as much time with everyone before they headed out tomorrow morning. Alice invited Bella and I to stay with her and Jasper in their room. It was going to be like a big sleepover, an overnight goodbye party of sorts. Bella seemed to want the time with Rosalie and Emmett and I couldn't say that part of me wasn't wanting to hang with Emmett for a little bit longer.

After all the goodbyes were said and Renee hugged Rosalie for the hundredth time, we all headed out. Bella and I needed to stop by our condo to pick up a change of clothes. Being alone with Bella was such a treat, I considered forgoing the whole farewell sleepover. She and I could just spend the night in each other's arms, preferably naked. The whole way home, I was trying to figure out how to get her to agree to my selfish desires.

We pulled into the garage behind our building and walked hand in hand to the front. Once inside, I noticed Mrs. Cope's cat coming down the stairs. At the same time, my phone rang. It was Emmett.

"Ed's Palace of Pleasure, Ed speaking, " I answered. Bella giggled at my greeting and picked up the cat. I could hear her talking to it in the same voice she used when she talked to Lily.

Emmett's voice boomed from the phone, "Hey, we can't find Lily's elephant. Rosalie said we didn't have it all day. We must have left it at your place. Can you guys check and bring it to the hotel?"

"Well, I would not want my poor niece to go without her elephant," I answered him and then whispered to Bella, "Hand me the cat, I'll get her back to the Copes. Can you look for Lily's elephant?"

Bella nodded and handed me the cat as she headed upstairs to our place. Well, the missing elephant effectively put an end to my master plan to seduce Bella into staying home.

"Hey, I'm glad you guys are coming to hang out tonight," Emmett said, sounding serious. I didn't need anymore serious talk. We needed to keep this upbeat or tonight was going to be torture.

"Well, I wouldn't want to deny you the pleasure of my company. I know my charm and good looks are always missed when I'm not around," I joked. I looked at the Cope's door and noticed it was slightly ajar. That must be how the cat got out. A sliver of light shined out the small crack.

Emmett was laughing at me, "You are such a funny guy. We're going to pick up some beer, any requests?"

"Um, whatever, I shouldn't really drink. I had enough last night, you know?" I was holding the cat in one arm since I was holding the phone to my ear with my other hand. The damn feline moved just right and its claws scratched me on hand. "Ouch!" I shouted, dropping the stupid cat. It ran into the Cope's condo. "Can you hold on a second?" I said to Emmett. I knocked on my neighbor's door and it pushed open a little farther. "Hello? Mrs. Cope?" I called in. I pushed the door further and stood in horror. There on the floor by the door was Mrs. Cope. She had been shot in the head. Her eyes were still open as she lay in a pool of blood.

"Holy fuck!" I screamed as I backed away.

"Edward, what's going on? What's the matter?" Emmett yelled from my phone.

All I could think of was my wife. Then I heard it. I heard a gunshot ring out upstairs. I froze for a second while my brain processed the situation Bella and I had come home to. They were here for us.

"Bella!" I started for the stairs when the door to Mrs. Cope's condo swung all the way open and I stood face to face with her killer. He hit me hard on the head with the butt of his gun and everything faded to black.

* * *

BPOV

I picked up the sweet black and white kitty that came down the stairs as we walked into the building.

"Hey there you sweet little thing. How'd you get out here? Huh? You're not supposed to be out here. Good thing you couldn't get outside. It's cold out there. Yes, it is."

The cat purred as I pet it and tickled it under its chin. Edward offered to return it to Mrs. Cope, who would probably be happier to see Edward at the door than me. He asked me to look for Lily's elephant and I handed him the cat.

I walked upstairs and pulled out my keys to unlock the door. I could hear Edward talking to Emmett. I shoved the key in the lock and turned the knob. As soon as I was through the door, something felt off. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was probably overreacting but I unsnapped the strap on my holster so I could access my gun before turning on the light. I stepped away from the door and heard a noise from the dark living room. I pulled out my weapon and flicked on the light. A man stepped out of the kitchen and instinctively shot. The man, all dressed in black, fell to his knees. My hand was throbbing, still sore from punching James, aggravated even more by the kickback from shooting my gun. Suddenly, from the beside the dining room table, another man lunged at me. Caught off guard, he was able to hit my arm and knock my gun free. It fell with a loud clunk on the wood floor and slid a few feet away. This second man, also dressed in all black, grabbed me and tried to pin my arm behind me. He was huge, Jacob huge. I tried to use his own weight and momentum against him and turned my body the right way to make him fall forward. I heard Edward scream my name from downstairs.

_Oh god, Edward. How was I going to protect him now?_

I went for my gun but the man grabbed my leg and pulled me off my feet. I hit the floor, my arms barely coming up in time to break my fall. I kicked him hard in the face. I tried to crawl to my gun but he pulled me back again, pinning my legs under his heavy body. I clawed and scratched at him, but on the ground I was easily overpowered. He managed to get completely on top of me, restraining my arms and my legs. I hadn't noticed in the struggle that another man had stepped out of the living room.

"This is the one that lives here," he said speaking to the man on top of me. He yanked me by my hair and forced me to look at him as he crouched in front of me. "Where are Emmett and Rosalie?" he asked angrily.

"Fuck you," I responded. He aggressively hit my head down on the wood floor. The searing pain made it hard to think clearly.

He lifted my head back up. "I'm only going to ask one more time. Where are they?"

"You're too late. They're gone," I spit as I felt the blood dripping from my forehead. The realization that Edward did not come upstairs crept up on me. I had heard him yell and he should have been upstairs by now. Panic was setting in but I needed to keep my wits about me if I was going to get out of this alive. I could see under the dining room table; there sat Lily's elephant rattle. My heart pounded furiously in my chest. There was no way in hell I was going to let these men get anywhere near that baby girl.

"Gone where?" he asked.

"I wouldn't tell you if I knew," I provoked. He slammed my head on the floor again, harder than the first time. My ears were ringing and my vision blurred for a moment. I needed to get up off this floor. There was no way I could escape from under the man on top of me. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you if you get this neanderthal off me."

"Felix, up," the man in front of me demanded. The guy on top of me moved around, grabbed ahold of my arms, and in one fluid motion lifted himself and me to our feet.

The man in front of me was holding a gun, which I hadn't noticed when I was on the floor. Two men, one gun. The guy holding me, Felix, was enormous. I tried remembering details. In the beginning of the fight, I noticed he had brown hair and a very square head. Besides being tall, he was muscular and broad chested. He was not going to be easy to get down. The man in front of me was average sized and older, maybe early fifties. He had long gray hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. The skin on his face was pitted from acne scars and I could see part of a tattoo that started on the left side of his neck and went under his shirt. Sort of like George Clooney's character in From Dusk Till Dawn. The third man was definitely dead by the kitchen. He was slumped over, the bullet had gone straight through the center of his chest. I needed to get away, I needed to find Edward.

_Where the fuck was Edward?_

"Where did they go?" the man asked again.

I closed my eyes and let my head fall forward, pretending that I was more disoriented than I was. Felix needed to adjust his grip as I let my body sway forward slightly.

"It's hard to think, my head..." I moaned and groaned a little.

Gun man sighed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. I took that moment to act. I stomped as hard as I could on Felix's foot, causing his to lessen his grip enough for me to pull out. I shoved my elbow up and into his ribcage, causing him to groan in pain. Then I kicked the guy with the gun in the side and then kneed him in the groin, causing him to double over. I spun and ran for the door. I stopped short, surprised at who was standing in the way.

"Damn it, Izzy!"


	33. Chapter 33 James

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.**

James POV

_I can't escape myself  
So many times I've lied  
But there's still rage inside  
Somebody get me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself  
So what if you can see the darker side of me  
No one will ever change this animal I have become  
Help me believe it's not the real me  
Somebody tame this animal I have become  
_Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace

When you're a little kid and someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up, I'm pretty sure no one says they want to grow up to be a fucking bad guy. Kids want to grow up to be astronauts, rock stars, football players. Hero shit. Nobody wants to grow up to be a criminal, a scumbag. Nobody aspires to be a man who lies, cheats, steals - kills. That's not what kids dream about. That's not what I dreamt about. I was going to be a doctor. I was going to be the doctor who cured all the diseases, especially the ones that made people crazy. We all know how that turned out. When I was old enough to really decide my fate, I chose a job where I could carry a gun, because that was cool. I've done lots of things because I thought they were cool. Dangerous things were cool. I didn't thrill seek in some manic episode like my mother; I was just doing what came easy. Being cool and bad was easy.

I have played on both sides of the law for a while now. I not sure if it's my understanding of police work that makes me a good criminal or my understanding of crime that makes me a good cop. Probably a little of both. I did learn how to break the law before I decided to try and uphold it. As a kid, I was prone to mischief. If there was trouble to be found, I found it, and fucking loved it. Liam thought I was crazy because I was willing to do anything. Sometimes I think I did shit just to shocked the hell out of him. I was his entertainment. I liked hanging out with him because he was so different than me and he had the family I always dreamed of. He was so easy going and so - normal. As we got older, he was like the little angel on my shoulder trying to talk me out of shit. Most of the time, though, I'd end up talking his ass into doing what I wanted. Liam wasn't very good at being bad, however. Liam is the quintessential good guy. When he did do something bad, he was always the one who got caught or ended up confessing to his mother. He was the best friend I've ever had, though. No matter how much trouble I got the guy into, he never ratted me out. Whether it was with the police or just his mom, he never gave me up. Mrs. Cummins wasn't stupid, she knew it was my influence that got her boys in trouble. Still, she welcomed me back over and over, treated me like one of her own. It was Liam's idea that I go to the police academy. I think he thought it would straighten me out. Make me use my powers for good instead of evil. Liam was the white hat to my black. He was the Obi Wan to my Anakin Skywalker. Unfortunately, my fate was sealed just like Darth Vadar's.

At first, I was pretty damn good at being a cop. I got to carry a gun, I got to tell people what to do, and I got to chase a couple bad guys around. Then the boredom set in. Portland is a big city but where I was stationed I didn't see a lot of action. I got moved to Vice, which was a nice change of pace. I had natural instincts. I could read people and think like the bad guy. It was helpful. Vice was where I met Alec. He, unbeknownst to me at the time, worked for the Volturi brothers as well as the city of Portland. Alec became my mentor of sorts. He took me under his wing and showed me things I shouldn't have seen. Before I knew it, I was pocketing money from busts and enjoying the company of some choice whores. All I had to do was look the other way on some things or take care of some competition here and there. I was having a good time, didn't seem to be hurting anyone, at least nobody other than drug dealers or fucking murdering assholes. I was linked to Alec, who was very loyal to the Volturi, and therefore seen an asset to the organization. It wasn't long before I was moved into a detective position so I could pull some strings in other areas.

I never felt guilt for anything I ever did. My only regret until now was Riley. Liam's little brother had gone to law school and became a little grunt for the DA's office in Portland. Growing up, Riley always followed us around like a lost, little puppy. He thought I was the shit. He wanted to be cool and tough. He was a wrestler in high school and was actually pretty scrappy. He could hold his own in the fights I tended to get us into whenever we all went out drinking. One night, he came over to my place with Liam. Riley was no dummy. He knew what a cop made and saw that I had stuff that didn't exactly fit into a detective's budget. He started asking some questions when we were tanked one night. I said too much, like a tend to do when I've had too many drinks. I thought the kid would turn me in but instead he wanted in. I should have never agreed. We didn't tell Liam because he would have put a stop to it immediately. Riley did some work for the Volturi in Portland until they had him move to Seattle a year later to work with Emmett Cullen, ADA extraordinaire. I'm the reason that Riley was dead. Me and fucking Emmett Cullen.

This last year, Emmett Cullen put Caius in jail along with Marcus and several other members of the organization. He tried cleaning up the corrupt judges, police officers, lawyers on the inside. Not an easy task. The Volturi had so much fucking money and power; they had so many people under their control. I thought for sure I would be discovered once things started spinning out of control in Seattle but the "Portland family" remained mostly untouched. A few were ratted out and prosecuted but Alec and I were both all good. I started to think that none of this was really worth it. Neither did Riley. He was calling me all the time. People in Seattle were getting busted left and right. Luckily, this Mike Newton character had no idea that Riley was even in play. Supposedly, this Newton douche bag kept detailed records of who was involved with Aro and his brothers. It was his relationship with the Cullens and his death at the hands of one Miss Isabella Swan that brought the whole thing down.

Isabella Swan and Emmett Cullen were names that everyone in the organization became very familiar with. Things were pretty out of control, though. Nobody knew who was in charge. Aro was under investigation but hadn't been taken in yet. Riley said they were building one hell of a federal case against him. It was only going to be a matter of time. This was true. Once Aro was arrested, I thought maybe it was all over. I thought I could go back to doing things the right way for the most part. I was never going to spend my life in jail, so I figured it was time to clean up my act. For months, I did my job like I was supposed to, no problems. Then the call came in. Alec called to say he had a message from Aro himself. I was the chosen one. I was going to help get revenge for the organization. They had arranged for me to be transferred to Chicago. I had one job - learn everything I could about Isabella Cullen. Mess with her all I wanted to and when the call came, take her out. I had never been asked to kill one of the "good guys" before and it made me a little uneasy. The name interested me though. Isabella Cullen. Emmett Cullen was married to that hotel princess, so I knew she wasn't with him but somehow the chick who helped Cullen take everyone down was married to his brother or some shit like that. How perfect.

Riley was freaking out like a madman. Cullen had assigned him the job of sorting out information concerning people still on the inside in the Portland force. He called me and said there was a list and my fucking name was on it. He was trying to handle it, trying to get my name off it but Cullen was a micro-fucking-manager. Riley was going to help me but then he wanted out. He was sure he was going to be found out or worse yet, removed by the Volturi. He knew that there were some guys the police didn't pick up but the Volturi had taken out before they could say anything. I was with him. Aro was going down, we didn't need to get our hands any dirtier. I told Alec that I didn't want the job. He laughed at me. He laughed because as he explained it, this really wasn't a choice. I had been given a job and I would do it or I would pay the consequences. I foolishly talked to Alec about Riley and his fears. Alec told me not to worry about Riley. I went to Chicago but a couple days before I started work I was got cold feet. I didn't think I was going to be able to kill this woman in cold blood. She was just a cop, who acted in self-defense from what I learned about the shooting. She had no idea what kind of shit she got herself into. I called Alec and asked him what I could do to get out of this. He told me there wasn't anything I could do. I told him I didn't think I could go through with it. He promised me some motivation. Alec motivated me, all right. Little did I know that in that moment, I signed Riley's death warrant.

They offered Riley an out. If he would deliver a package to Cullen, he could be done with the organization. He called me the day before he was killed and asked me what I thought. It seemed simple enough. All he had to do was find a way to get some wrapped up shirt box in Cullen's possession. He could leave it on his fucking doorstep for all that the Volturi cared. Alec had suggested he bring it with him to the next meeting he had with Cullen. Riley and the lawyers were working through the weekend, with Aro's trial beginning that Monday. The Sunday before I started my new job in Chicago, I got the call that Riley had been blown up in Cullen's jeep. Alec explained that the same thing could happen to me if I didn't go along with what was being asked of me. The plan was to blow up the whole fucking group of prosecutors, but Riley brought it in that fucking car with him and he alone paid the price. I don't know why the bomb went off when it did. Knowing Riley, he probably started second guessing himself. Maybe he wasn't going to go through with it. Maybe he got curious and opened it to see what it was before he gave it to Cullen, setting it off. Then again for all I know, Alec had it detonated then just to fuck with me. I'll never know for sure. One thing was for sure, there was no turning back after that.

I showed up at the station Monday morning solidly set on completing this job and getting out. Then I met Izzy. God, she's beautiful. My pain and guilt helped me work hard at pissing her off that first week. Pissing her off was almost too easy. She was all about pride and respect. All I had to do was call her Izzy and she would fume like a crazy person. There was something about her, though. Behind all that tough talk and her ironclad defenses, I could see there was vulnerability. My evil nature should have taken over. I should have played on her weaknesses but there was something about her that made me want to protect her. She was unbelievably resilient. She was smart and so damn hard working. There was something so essentially _good_ about her. Izzy is good. Too damn good. I found myself thinking about her all the time. Thinking about her outside of this fucked up situation. Then I met CK. Fucking Edward Cullen. This is the guy that someone like Izzy ends up with? A pretty boy photographer? It didn't even make sense. For some reason, I hated him the moment I set eyes on him. Maybe it was because his brother was partly responsible for me being in this mess. If there was no Emmett Cullen, I'd be back in Portland living the good life. Of course, the other reason was she was his. I really didn't like that. I think he knew I didn't like it. It was the day after I met CK that I realized I was falling for her. Hell, I was done falling, I had fallen and I wasn't sure what the fuck I was supposed to do about that. CK made it easy to want him out of the picture. The Saturday she called me to come follow up a lead with her, I could tell that bastard had done something. She was over focused and trying way too hard to distract me and herself. I was attuned to her, though. It was like I could feel what she felt. Izzy was my soulmate. The only problem with that - I wasn't hers. I was fucked. Now I couldn't kill her but I didn't know how to save her either.

Felix arrived in Chicago, informing me that Hotel Princess was in town and most likely staying with Izzy. He was keeping tabs on her place and it made me nervous. I found myself keeping tabs on him keeping tabs on them. It was becoming ridiculous. My only hope was that Aro would be found guilty and put away for good. I thought it would be easier to grab her up and get her out of this mess. If Aro went down, there would be a shift in power and right now those in line were ready to take each other out for the chance at being boss. It was likely these idiots would cause what was left of the organization to collapse completely. No organization, nobody looking for me and Izzy. On the other hand, the hope of the organization was he could get a mistrial. They had already messed with Cullen's reputation and nearly killed some juror's wife. I didn't know what else they had in the works but they were up to no good in Seattle.

With no control over how thing were going to turn out, I decided there was no harm in helping Izzy. She even asked for my help. There I was in CK's home, wrestling with Iz and the princess, helping Izzy teach the princess how to defend herself. She'd never manage to get away from Felix but I showed her a couple things for the hell of it. You never know. Hotel Princess was more than I expected, as well. I thought for sure she'd be some stuck up, rich bitch but she was really - normal. She teased CK, listened to everything Izzy and I said, and earned my respect. Izzy was in her element that day. She was fucking amazing. Her strength and smarts blew me away. I wanted to grab her and tell her I loved her right in front of her fucking dick of a husband. If CK hadn't tried to pummel me, I might have done it. I left there feeling more frustrated. I didn't realize there was a baby. This thing kept getting more fucked up by the minute. There was no way in hell I could do something to a baby. What kind of sick fuck could? Aro. Felix. Alec. Those sick fucks would do anything.

Things kept going from bad to worse. The organization got word that Emmett might be in Chicago. Felix made plans to get Izzy out of the way, at least that was what he texted me while I was at work ogling the shit out of her. I made a mad dash out of work that day and confronted him sitting in his fucking rental car waiting for her to pass by. She was my target, not his. I was the one waiting for the order to take her out and that had not come yet. We argued near her place and then drove somewhere else to have it out. I beat the shit out of him for trying to "take my job" from me. No one was going to touch Izzy but me. They didn't need to know that I wasn't going to kill her but they sure as hell were going to know that she was mine and mine alone to deal with.

My worst fear was realized the day Alec fucking texted me that Aro was going to get out of jail. He kept me updated all day and sure enough, he got the fucking mistrial. I was so pissed that day and I took it out on Izzy. With Aro out, it was going to be harder to stop him from seeking the revenge he wanted. Aro used his newfound freedom to his advantage and took off before the dumb asses in Seattle rearrested him. I was informed a few days before Thanksgiving that he was coming to Chicago, to personally deal with the Cullens. It took everything I had not to tell Izzy to run for her fucking life. I have only met Aro Volturi once. Most of my dealings were with his brother, Caius. I understood that it was not a good thing to have to face Aro. As the head of the organization, meetings with him usually ended with someone not coming out alive. I met him briefly during a visit he made to Portland. I was not looking forward to having to see him again. Alec and the crew showed up and I convinced them to wait until Thanksgiving Day. I knew Izzy was going to be out all day and we could easily be lying in wait for them to return. My plan was to convince Alec to grab everyone but her. I could tell him I was going to finish her off at the condo while they took the rest of them to Aro. Then she and I would run together. CK would be out of the way and Aro would think he got his revenge.

The day before Thanksgiving, Izzy took me out for drinks. She fucking saved my life the week before and here we were getting closer to the day I would hopefully save hers. I got wasted. My mouth ran a little too much. I wanted to tell her I loved her. I wanted to tell her I was going to take her away and make everything all right. She was my soulmate and with some time, I believed I could make her even happier than she thought she was with fucking CK. I wanted to kiss her. I have never wanted to kiss anyone more in my whole entire life. I was so close and then there he was - CK fucking showed up and ruined everything. She ran away all flustered. She punched me in the jaw when I called him out on not being man enough for her. He wasn't man enough. He wasn't the one that was going to save her, I was. He was going to be taken down in an instant. I was going to be the last man standing. I was going to be with Izzy forever. She was my way out of all this twisted crap. Part of me was praying to a God I didn't really believe in that she would help me be good; she could save my soul.

Here I was, standing in her fucking doorway, watching her kick Felix and Alec's asses. She was so fucking tenacious and badass. But she had messed this up for us. Emmett and Hotel Princess weren't fucking here. They were supposed to be here. CK had been on the phone when he found the unlucky neighbor who helped us get in. Patrols drove by this place every twenty to thirty minutes that last few days. We were fucked. We needed to get out of here and there was no way we could go to Aro empty handed. I was so fucking pissed.

"Damn it, Izzy!"

She froze, looking at me wide eyed but not exactly surprised. I had said a lot of stupid shit last night. I wouldn't put it past her to have figured me out.

"Kill that fucking bitch!" Alec yelled.

"We need to move, Alec. Her husband was on the phone when I got to him. Someone will be calling the police and the patrols are always close. We need to go now," I said ignoring what he said.

"Where's the husband?"

"In the hall here, I knocked him out. We need to move," I said with urgency. I could see Izzy trying to look around me for fucking CK.

"Fuck!" Alec was flustered. "We'll take these two to Aro and let him decide what we should do with them. He wants her anyways. I'm sure Aro will think of some interesting ways to make her talk. Felix grab him and James get the doors for us." He grabbed Izzy roughly by the arm and shoved his gun in her back. Part of me wanted to shoot his ass for manhandling her like that and busting up her head.

"Just leave Edward. He has nothing to do with this. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. Leave him, please," Izzy begged, looking at me with her big, brown eyes full of fear - fear for him not herself. Jesus, she would do anything for this dick.

Alec squeezed her face with his hand, "You knee me in the fucking balls and you want me to do something for you? You're lucky I don't have James fucking shoot him right here in front of you, bitch. Walk, before I change my mind."

We loaded everyone in the cargo van. Alec drove with Felix in the front seat. The two of them were nursing their wounds from their fight with Iz. Alec turned on the police scanner so we could listen for a call to where we just left. I rode in the back with Izzy and CK. Izzy sat on the floor of the van, holding her husband's head in her lap. She was gently stroking his hair and face. She was so fucking nurturing it was killing me. Ever the vigilant cop, she would look straight ahead towards the front of the van ever so often, trying to make sense of where we were headed, I'm sure. She thought she was going to be able to save the both of them all on her own. I knew she'd be willing to die trying. I wasn't about to let her die, though.

I leaned closer to her so I could whisper, "Iz. I think I can get them to let you go if you give them Emmett. Don't be so fucking stubborn. You don't want to go in front of Aro."

She took a couple deep breaths and wouldn't make eye contact with me. She was bleeding from the beating Alec had given her. A nice sized lump was forming on her usually perfect forehead. I reached out in an attempt to wipe the blood off of her face. She recoiled from me the moment I moved.

"Fuck you, Duncan. Fuck. You." Her voice was shaky; she was rattled, as she damn well should be. Alec was taking us to Aro. That was not going to end well unless we came up with a new plan.

"I'm trying to get you out of this. But you have to give up Emmett, at least." I knew part of her hesitation had to be Hotel Princess and the baby. I just wanted the fucking ADA, that's it. If she would tell me where they were, we could get him and I could offer to get rid of her and CK while Alec and Felix took Emmett to Aro. It was a great fucking plan if Izzy would just cooperate.

Now she met my stare. I thought she was going to say something but CK started coming around. He groaned loudly.

"Baby, shh." She turned her attention away from me and returned to her stroking and caressing of him.

His eyes fluttered open. "Bella. Bella?" He sat up a little to quickly for his fucking sore head. He held his head in his hands. His eyes taking in where he was, what was happening. "You," he said with as much loathing as I felt. He turned around to face Izzy. "He killed Mr. and Mrs. Cope. He fucking shot her in the head. What the hell happened to your head, did he hit you?"

I don't know why I wanted to defend myself but part of me wanted to tell him I didn't do jack shit. I didn't even kill the fucking neighbors. That was Alec. I was just in the fucking place as the eyes of the operation. I saw Izzy and CK coming around the building and called Alec to prepare him. I was waiting for ADA Cullen and the fucking Hotel Princess. I kept thinking they were going to show but they didn't. I realized I needed to get upstairs so Alec didn't shoot Izzy before I had a chance to get her out of there. CK fucked things up again. He had to be on the phone while he nosed around his neighbor's. He saw the dead woman before I could get to him. We had to race out of there with no chance of making deals or convincing Alec that I should handle Izzy on my own. If CK wanted to blame someone for this mess, he could blame himself.

Izzy reached out to him. Holding his face in her hands, she whispered, "Edward. Listen to me. They're taking us to Aro." He looked like he was going to vomit. She tried to calm him down. "Listen to me. They want Emmett but Emmett and Rose are _gone_ so we have nothing to tell him. No matter what they say they are going to do to me, don't try to tell them something that's _not _true." She looked to him for confirmation that he understood.

Not surprising, he looked at her like he had no idea what she was talking about. Why would she tell him that? It hit me immediately.

"Iz, if you fucking know where they are, don't you fucking try to lie about it. Don't be a fucking hero," I whispered angrily. She was trying to tell him to lie to keep his fucking brother safe. _No matter what they say they're going to do to me._ She knew what the strategy would be.

"Shut up," she whispered back at me.

"Bella," CK moaned, finally cluing into what she was telling him.

"I'm serious Edward. We don't know where they are. That is what you tell Aro. I will be ok. Do you understand?"

He shook his head and started to cry. Fucking pansy ass. He was not man enough for her. I knew then, I was her only hope of getting out of this alive. Izzy wrapped herself around him and whispered stuff I couldn't hear. He kept shaking his head and whispered back to her. Then he wiped his face and glared at me. Now I was supposed to think he was tough? Was I supposed to be afraid? Whatever. They positioned themselves against the opposite side of the van from me.

Alec was on his phone, I could only assume talking to Aro. He drove us off the expressway and into a deserted industrial park. Even I didn't know where we were going. I shifted my gaze from the front of the van back to Izzy and CK. They were holding hands, their fingers were intertwined. His thumb was rubbing little circles on the back of her hand. It was such a simple gesture, but it made me want to break his hand off. The van slowed down and Alec got off the phone. We came to a stop and Felix and Alec jumped out. I could see Izzy tense up.

"Tell Aro what he wants to know and then I'll get you out of here. I swear, Iz."

She glared at me. "Why would I believe anything you have to say?"

"Because I am the only fucking hope you got."

Felix wrenched opened the back doors.

"Let's go. Aro's waiting," Alec said pointing his gun at Izzy.

CK and Izzy exchanged a look and she shook her head so slightly it was probably undetectable to someone not paying attention. I knew it was definitely part of their silent communication. CK looked as happy as I was with her refusal to do this my way. She was going to make this fucking harder than it already was.

**A/N: A little insight into our favorite bad guy. Hope you enjoyed it. I don't see going into his head again. Let me know what you think...**


	34. Chapter 34 The Aro Encounter

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. **

**Warning for this chapter - there is some discussion of rape that may not sit well with people as well as some violence, that's why it's rated M. **

**Thanks to momof4luvntwisaga for the title of this chapter. I have to give credit where credit is due! **

**If you haven't read Pictures of You before reading this - this chapter might not make total sense. Bella and Edward have had an Aro Encounter before, this one is not going to go as well as the first...**

BPOV

Edward and I were not going to make it out of this alive. I resolved to that during the drive. I wanted to believe there was a _very_ small possibility that I could negotiate Edward's release if I could figure out a way to convince them I would tell them the truth about Emmett's whereabouts. However, it was more likely they would threaten Edward's life to get me to talk and vice versa. My biggest worry was he would break and tell them something in hopes that they would let me go. They weren't going to let us go, whether we gave them the information they wanted or not. That wasn't the way Aro worked. Giving them what they want may lead to a less painful death but a death nonetheless. This was going to be hard for Edward to believe. He was afraid and I feared any false promise to let me live would lead to a misguided attempt to play along. He would only be killing us and Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle and Esme, Alice and Jasper, Lily - all of them would be at risk if he told them anything about the Hale Hotel.

During the ride over, I tried to figure out where they were taking us. It was pretty impossible to see from the floor of the van. I would occasionally catch sight of green highway exit sign. We were definitely on 90/94, headed towards the south side of the city. I was relieved when Edward came to. I tried to get him to understand that he could not tell Aro where Emmett was no matter what. James was not much help, arguing with me about what to do. He was such an asshole. There he sat trying to tell me he could get me out of this if I just cooperated. Did he really think I was that stupid? He seemed almost angry with me, telling me not to be a hero. This was not what Edward needed to hear. Edward didn't need to think that the best option was telling. Telling was only going to get everyone killed. I couldn't get James to shut up. I wanted to smack the false concern right off his face. I think Edward finally understood what I was saying. They were going to hurt us no matter what, so we had to protect the rest of the family. He was devastated, like I knew he would be. I tried to console him, I told him over and over that I loved him more than anything in the whole world. If there was another way, I would find it but he had to protect his family. The van exited before we hit the Stevenson Expressway. We didn't get far before we pulled into an industrial park. The van stopped and Felix and the man James called Alec jumped out. James again tried to convince me he was going to be my savior. The back doors opened and we were told to get out.

We cautiously followed our captors into a big, empty warehouse. A few wood pallets were stacked in one corner but other than that, it appeared this place was not currently doing any legitimate business. I noticed there were two men outside the warehouse and two more when we got inside. The two men outside were armed with some semi-automatics; the ones inside were smoking and had shoulder holsters on, armed with only handguns. Seven men. At least six guns. I didn't see Felix with a gun but that didn't mean he didn't have one. I was definitely fucked. Alec left us, telling James to keep watch. The two men who were smoking found Edward and me very interesting.

"This doesn't look like the guy from the papers. I think you idiots got the wrong guy," one of the men said to James and Felix as he walked around us in a predatory circle.

"It's Cullen's brother and Newton's shooter," Felix responded with a very thick foreign accent. I couldn't place it exactly but it kind of made him sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The man's eyes lit up. "Isabella," he said with a smirk. He stopped in front of me and looked me up and down, licking his lips. "Well, aren't you a little thing? God, I hope Aro let's us have some fun tonight."

Edward let out a growl but it was James who stepped in between me and the other man. James pressed the barrel of his gun right under the man's eye. "Touch her and we'll see how small your brain really is because it will be splattered all over the floor behind you."

The man took a step back and laughed. "You must be the Alec's guy from Portland. I heard you were a crazy motherfucker."

There was noise at the other end of the warehouse. A door opened and Alec walked in followed by two more men. James stood on one side of me and Edward on the other. Edward reached for my hand and squeezed it tightly as the door opened once more and Aro Volturi stepped through. Aro was dressed in a black suit with a blood red dress shirt and no tie. His dark hair was slicked back and his skin was paler than I remembered. He looked thin, perhaps he didn't enjoy prison food while on trial. Alec and the other two men came around and stood behind us. Aro walked straight for us and stopped a foot or so in front of Edward.

He stretched his arms out wide and smiled evilly at me, "Isabella. We meet again." His smile faded and he looked at Edward, "Mr. Durden. Are you feeling all right? You look a little pale?"

_Fuck._ Aro had met Edward one time a year and half ago for all of five minutes. Why did he have to remember? Edward looked like he was going to throw up. I wanted to throw up because Edward was going to pay for my attempt at finding Rosalie back then. Emmett had been so angry at me for taking Edward along. Right now, I realized how completely stupid that decision had been.

"Let's not fuck around, Aro. You want something from us that we don't have. You want to punish me for taking out Newton and starting this whole mess you're in, then let's go. Edward has nothing to do with this," I offered, trying to deflect attention back to me.

"Isabella," he shook his head like he was disappointed in me. "Your time will come. Right now I need to talk to your husband." He turned back towards Edward, "I think I understand your discomfort. When we first met you introduced yourself to me as Tyler Durden. That doesn't appear to be your name, though, is it?"

Edward shook his head no.

"No. My understanding is your name is Edward Cullen. Vlad," he said to the man who got in my face earlier. "Who is Tyler Durden?"

"Tyler Durden is a character in a movie, sir."

"Which movie, Vlad?"

"Fight Club, sir."

"Fight Club? Sounds interesting. I am not much of a movie person, you see." Aro paced slowly in front of me and Edward. "What was it about, Vlad?"

"It's about a guy who runs this underground fight club. He's nuts, has a split personality or something like that. Then the guy wants to blow up some building; he hates consumerism or something like that, sir."

"Did Tyler Durden fight in this fight club?"

"Yes, sir."

"Was he a good fighter?"

"He was good; he was crazy, so he was good."

I could see where this was going. I squeezed Edward's hand but his attention was squarely focused on Aro.

Aro stopped pacing and stood in front of Edward. "Mr. Cullen, do you have a split personality?"

Edward cleared his throat. "No."

"No. So Tyler Durden is not some alter ego of yours?"

"No."

"No. Did you like the movie Fight Club?"

Edward began messing with his hair. His anxiety was written all over his perfect face. "Yeah. I liked the movie."

"Are you crazy, Mr. Cullen?"

Edward shifted uncomfortably as his hand still pulled at his hair. "Somedays I feel like I'm going crazy. But no, I don't think I'm crazy."

"No? That's a shame. It appears my men here think a man fights better if he's crazy. That will be to your disadvantage then." Aro went back to pacing in front of us. "I am not a big fan of people who try to deceive me, Mr. Cullen. I feel you thought it was wise to deceive me. This does not make me happy. So perhaps you are a little crazier than you think. Pissing me off is kind of crazy, Mr. Cullen."

I let go of Edward's hand and stepped in between him and Aro. "This was all my fault. Coming to talk to you last year was my idea. Lying about who we were was also my idea. It was all me. I am the only one to blame for all of this. I am the one you want to be angry with. Just me."

Aro's hand flew up to my throat and cut off my airway. Edward moved incredibly fast, trying to grab Aro's arm. Felix yanked Edward away, restraining him out of my view.

I could hear Edward yelling, "Let her go! Please, let her go!"

"I'm not sure why she thinks she can keep talking out of turn. This confuses me," Aro cocked his head to the side and looked at me with curiosity.

"She's quite the pain in the ass, sir," Alec said behind me.

It was impossible to breathe. He was crushing my windpipe. I was struggling to pry his fingers from my neck but was not having much luck. He was unbelievably strong for looking somewhat frail. He almost had me lifted off my feet.

"Yes. Yes, she is. Someone better shut her up or she will ruin all my fun. I'll end up killing her before I want her dead." He released me and I stumbled backwards a little. James caught me and didn't let go. I was gasping for air.

"I'll handle her," James said in a somewhat shaky voice.

He pulled me away from the little circle that had formed in the center of the warehouse.

"I want her to watch, of course. Just keep her quiet," Aro said pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket. He dabbed his forehead with it. "Where was I?" he asked looking around at the group of men.

"Mr. Cullen pissed you off, sir," Alec reminded him.

"Yes. Yes, he did. So since you like Fight Club so much and you enjoy being Mr. Durden so much, I think it is only fair that I be entertained by watching you engage in a fight. Felix, let him go." Felix let go of Edward, who had stopped struggling as soon as Aro had released me.

"Jesus Christ, Izzy. What the hell are you thinking?" James whispered to me. His eyes were searching mine for some understanding. His hand gently touched my neck. I was definitely going to have a bruise. "Please shut the hell up. Ok?" he said, sounding extremely panicked.

I pushed his hand away. He was such a confusing piece of shit. He helps them ambush me and Edward but now seems worried about what Aro was going to do to me? What did he think Aro was going to do to me once we got here? Invite me in for tea and fucking cookies? I turned my attention back to Edward. He was going to have to fight and I hoped it wasn't to the death.

"Felix, would you like to take on Mr. Cullen here?" Aro asked, making me want to run back out there and stop this. Felix could kill Edward.

"Certainly, sir," Felix answered as if he had a choice.

"Vlad, are there rules to fight club?"

"There are, sir. The first two are no one talks about fight club."

"Well, that shouldn't be an issue. Let's change that to no one talks _during_ fight club," he said looking at me. "Can you handle that, Isabella?"

"She'll be quiet," James assured him for me.

Vlad informed Aro of the other rules from the movie. Then he had one of the other men fetch him a chair so he could comfortably watch the fight. I was liking the rule that if someone says stop, the fight is over but I wasn't sure it that would be upheld. I was more worried it was going to end in Edward going limp.

They made Edward take off his jacket and shirt. He had to remove his shoes and socks as well. Felix looked even more menacing when you could see every muscle bulging from his body. Edward was nicely built as well. He had a six-pack and nice pecs but he was in no way in the same weight class as Felix, if this were a real boxing match. Not to mention, Felix was almost a half foot taller than my six foot two husband. Edward could put up a good fight but this was not really fair. I wanted to do something, something to stop this from happening. The unfortunate truth was there was no way to stop this. If I opened my mouth again I was only going to make Aro angrier. Edward was going to have to fight. Aro's men made a circle around Edward and Felix. Aro sat in the chair that was brought out for him. He leaned back in his seat and with his index finger rested against his temple, called for the fight to begin.

My eyes were fixed on Edward but he would not look at me. I could see him take a deep breath, trying to calm himself. My beautiful Edward. It was my fault he was mixed up in this. I hoped he realized he didn't have anything to prove; taking a dive was the way to go here. Let Felix get a good hit in and then go down. There was no reason to try very hard. Both men moved around the circle. Watching, waiting for the other to make the first move. To my surprise, it was Edward that tried to hit first. Felix seemed as surprised as I was and took the hit to the chin. He shook his big head and then went after Edward. Edward was fast, very fast. He moved out of the way and was not hit by Felix's punch. He, in turn, connected another punch, this time to Felix's body. The guys watching were starting to make some noise, hooting and hollering, shouting at Felix to let Edward "have it".

I felt James tugging on my arm, pulling me further away from the fight in small steps. Finally, I turned and looked at him. He silently tried to communicate with me, using his eyes to point out to me where there was an exit door. I wrenched my arm out of his grasp and made a face to let him know I didn't know what he was trying to do. There was a loud cheer from the men. When I looked back, it appeared Edward had taken a good hit. He was on his knees. I prayed he would stay down.

James pressed himself up against my back and whispered in my ear, "Follow me and I think I can get us out of here."

I turned my head towards him, completely thrown by what he said. _He could get us out of here?_

"Just take it slow and then when I give you the ok - we'll run," he whispered again.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not leaving Edward."

"Don't be stupid. I can get you out of here."

"I won't go anywhere without Edward," I replied stubbornly, taking a step back towards the fight.

Edward was standing again and they were exchanging punches. Felix then landed a solid blow to Edward's face and down he went. I stepped forward, unable to control the impulse to take care of him. James yanked me back, hard.

Aro was on his feet clapping. Edward did not get back up. I was fighting James' hold on me, but he was determined to keep me away.

"Well, that was very entertaining. Not nearly long enough, though. Perhaps we should have started with someone other than Felix. Oh well. We can always play again. Take him to an office and wait for him to wake up. Get him some ice for that eye. I want him to be able to see clearly when we move on to our fun with Isabella. I want him awake and alert for the entire thing. I promise once I finish with her, all of you will get a turn. She'll be much easier to keep conscious. Alec!" Aro snapped his fingers and started walking back where he came from, Alec on his heels.

The other men were congratulating Felix and reminiscing about the fight. Edward was out cold. It was killing me not to be able to go over to him, make sure he was ok. Alec came back into the warehouse and directed some of the men to carry Edward into another room. He called James over. James, holding tightly to my arm, walked us over to Alec.

"Take her and keep her in one of the offices until Aro is ready for her. She will get one chance to tell Aro where Emmett is or she will watch her husband beaten within an inch of his life over and over tonight. She's stubborn, which is fine. I'm sure her husband will only be able to endure her being violated by the ten of us once. He'll be singing like a bird before Aro's done with her I'm sure," he spoke as if he was discussing an average day at work, not torture and rape.

I thought my legs might go out on me. My heart was beating at record speed. Bile was creeping up the back of my throat. They were going to make Edward watch them rape me. I was beginning to pray he didn't wake up. Edward would never survive having to watch that. James pulled on my arm as he led me to an office in an attached building. Once inside, James closed the door behind us so we were alone. The white-walled room was sparsely furnished with a small wooden desk, a chair, and a filing cabinet. There was dirty, industrial type carpet on the floor. I spotted a garbage can next to the desk and unloaded my stomach. When I finished retching, I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my jacket.

James was pacing in front of me, banging the butt of his gun on his head lightly. He was mumbling to himself; I couldn't make out what he was saying. I took off my jacket, feeling like I couldn't be weighed down my a winter coat any longer. I was shaking, uncontrollably. The thoughts running through my head were enough to make me vomit again. I was breaking down and that was not going to help Edward. Of course it was better to break down now, I told myself. Edward couldn't see or hear me. I needed to figure out a way to completely shut down when the time came. I had to find a way to detach, for mine and Edward's sake. For right now, I was going to cry because I really fucking needed to cry. I sat on the floor and wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them to my chest. I buried my face into my knees and let the emotions come crashing down.

Suddenly there were arms wrapped around me. James words sought to comfort me, "No one's going to touch you, Izzy. I swear on my life, I will not let one of those fucking bastards lay a finger on you. I promise you. Please don't cry. Please don't cry." He just repeated that over and over while I bawled my eyes out.

I was a fucking mess, a confused mess. I wanted to fucking punching him and hug him at the same time. He helped bring us here, he was working for Aro, but he did seem to want to get me out of here alive, as impossible as that seemed. I wanted Edward. I wanted him to hold me and tell me we would be all right. James was all I had right now and for some reason he was trying to care for me, so I let him. My head fell on his chest and let the misery have its way with me. I'm not sure how long we sat there. My sobs slowed and I started that hiccupy breathing like a child who'd spent hours crying his eyes out. James stopped begging me to not cry and instead was stroking my hair and telling me everything was going to be all right. When I regained control of myself, I realized that the last place on earth I wanted to be was in his arms. I pushed him away and made every effort to get as far away from him as possible in the little space I was afforded in this room. I rubbed my face with my hands. I needed to get my head on straight. I needed to figure out how I was going to disconnect my mind and my body. I had worked with enough rape victims to know that it kind of just happens. It's part of your brain's natural defenses.

"I'm in love with you."

His words shot across the room like a bullet to my chest. I laughed, no I fucking snorted. I looked at him, standing across the room from me with the most sincere look on his face.

"You're serious?" I asked taking a step towards him. As surprised as I was, I was even more pissed. "You're fucking serious?"

"I was sent here to watch you and to kill you when Aro ordered it, but I fell in love with you and I wanted to save you but you fucking showed up tonight without the fucking ADA and Hotel Princess and you fucked up all my plans. I was going to save you. I was going to make sure you never had to face Aro. I had a fucking plan but you guys fucked it up!" He was pacing around again, swinging his gun around.

I couldn't even wrap my head around what he was saying. He was in love with me? He wanted to save me? He had a fucking plan?

"You need to tell Aro where the ADA is, Izzy. Please. Just tell him," he said with pleading eyes.

"Are you really that fucking naive? Don't you see? Telling Aro what he wants to know isn't going to save me or Edward. Do you really believe he's not going to let all of you have your way with me over and over?"

"No one is going to touch you!" he screamed. He stopped pacing and pointed his gun at me. "No one is going to touch you." He was breathing hard and I wasn't sure if he was ready to kill me or whoever tried to touch me. "We need a new plan. We need to figure out how to get you out of here."

"Us. How to get _us_ out of here. I'm not leaving without Edward."

It was James' turn to snort. "I'm only putting my life at risk for you, Iz."

"Well, that's great but I am not going anywhere without him. I love _him_. I would risk my life for _him_."

Before he could respond there was a knock at the door. I could feel every muscle in my body tense at the same time. The bile was resurfacing at the back of my throat. The door opened and Vlad walked in.

"Alec wants you. I'll watch her," he said to James.

"Fuck you. I'm not leaving. If Alec wants to talk to me, he knows where I am," he said, placing himself between me and Vlad.

Vlad looked at him like he had lost his mind, "Are you kidding me? Alec wants to talk to you. It isn't a request."

James took a step towards Vlad and pointed his gun at him. "Are you deaf? I'm not leaving her with you. If he wants me he can come here."

"You are one crazy ass," Vlad said backing out of the room, shaking his head. James shut the door.

"We need a fucking plan," he repeated.

"There are ten men," I said ready to see what he was thinking.

"Nine," he corrected me. I forgot he was number ten.

"Nine men. Seven inside. Two outside. All armed. Let's see, we have you and one gun. That's not really great odds."

"Well, obviously I need to get you a fucking gun," he said rolling his eyes at me. That was music to my ears. "I need to go out there and see what's going on. I need to get an idea of where everyone is."

"Well, it appears Alec wanted to talk to you but you told Vlad there to fuck off."

"Shit," he said running his hand through his cropped, blond hair. "I don't want to leave you alone with anyone."

"I think I can handle him. You're the only one who can go out there."

He watched me for a second and then one side of his mouth curved up. "That's what I love about you, Iz. Nobody fucks with you."

He opened the door just as Alec was ready to bust in.

"You know what I don't have time for? I don't have time for your fucking bullshit right now, Duncan. I fucking vouched for you and this is how you show your respect?" Alec whacked James on the head with his hand. "You fucking piss me off again and I will shoot your ass, you understand me?"

James nodded.

"I need to talk to you about a couple things, now move your ass."

Alec and James left the room and before the door could close, Vlad slipped in.

"Someone needs to keep an eye on the delectable Isabella."

I sighed and sat back on the floor, as far from Vlad as possible. He didn't bother me for the first few minutes. I tried to imagine getting out of here with Edward in one piece. It was what I wanted more than anything in the world. I didn't know how we were going to make that happen. Vlad walked around the desk. He pulled open the drawers, looked inside, and then shut them. He walked around it one more time, sliding his fingers across the top of it.

"This desk is small but seems pretty sturdy. I think it could support our weight. What do you think, Isabella?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the desk.

"I think you have a better chance of fucking yourself than you do me, Vlad."

He laughed a dark, sinister laugh. "Oh, I love the way you say my name. Be sure to call it out over and over when we're going at it." He slid off the desk and walked towards me.

"Touch me and die," I threatened, adrenaline pumping through my veins. My survival instincts told me I needed to get off the floor. I pulled myself up and kept my back pressed against the wall.

He moved in front of me, placing his hands on the wall on either side of me. "You see, I love it when a woman fights. It makes it that much more exciting for me. I worry that when I get my turn with you later tonight, all the fight will be fucked out of you. So maybe I need a little preview."

He brought his face inches from mine. His nose skimmed my cheek and down my neck. My chest was rising and falling with heavy breaths. His hands came off the wall and rested on my shoulders. He was standing too close for me to knee him in the crotch. He moved his hands down my arms and grabbed me around the waist. He pushed his fingers under my shirt as I glared into his black eyes. When his hand touched the skin on my stomach, I head-butted him as hard as I could. I had forgotten about the killer bump on my forehead and almost blacked out from the pain I inflicted on myself with my attack. Vlad took a step back, holding his now bleeding nose. I tried to get around him to the door but he grabbed me by the hair, pulling me backwards. I lost my footing and fell. He was on top of me, smacking me repeatedly while he cussed me out for hurting him. I tried to cover my face and head with my arms.

_Click._ The sound of the gun being cocked stopped Vlad immediately. I looked out from under my arms and saw James standing above us with his gun pressed against Vlad's temple.

"Give me one reason to not blow your fucking head off," James seethed. "I take that back, hit her again so I can watch you bleed from a hole I put in your head."

Vlad raised his hands up in surrender as the blood poured from his broken nose.

"Bitch broke my fucking nose."

"Something tells me you deserved it, asshole. Get the fuck out of here before I lose control and pull this trigger."

Vlad climbed off of me and walked out of the room backwards, keeping his eyes on me the whole time.

"Later, my dear Isabella. I don't care how thoroughly fucked you are by the time I get to you - you will be begging for mercy. _Begging_." With that, he left the room. James kicked the door close.

I sat up and wiped myself up with my sweater. I was a bloody mess. My head was bleeding again and I had Vlad's bloody nose sprayed all over me.

"At least you broke his fucking nose. This is why I didn't want to leave you alone." James knelt down in front of me, grabbing my chin so he could look at the bump on my head. He checked me over to see what else Vlad did to me. Once he was satisfied that I wasn't hurt too badly he stood back up.

"So what'd you find out?" I asked, starting to stand but deciding it was better to stay put for a few minutes until my head stopped pounding.

"Basically we're in a big square. We're here," he pointed to one end of the desk. "Then you have like this open space with some cubicles and desks. Then an office over here," pointed to one side, "is where Aro is hanging out with Alec and two bodyguards. CK is down here with Felix," he pointed to the other end of the desk from where we were. "We're closest to the warehouse. Vlad's going to be in the bathroom for a little bit so all we have to deal with is the two guys outside. I got keys to a car. They wanted me to head back over to your place and act like the concerned partner. See if ADA and Hotel Princess show up because of your disappearance. They just handed me the keys. We're golden, Izzy."

"We have to get Edward. I'm not leaving without Edward." This was non-negotiable.

James resumed his furious pacing while he struggled with how to respond to my demand. His face twisted in a scowl. "It's too risky. I don't see how we can get past the four in the big office with CK in tow. Getting you out is not going to be easy. Getting CK is suicide."

"I'm not leaving without Edward. I would rather stay and deal with whatever."

James stopped pacing, "Are you insane? Izzy, do you think he would want you to do that? Do you think if I walked over there right now and offered him the choice, he would pick watching you get raped over you getting out of here without him?"

That wasn't fair and he better not be thinking about asking Edward to choose.

"What I mean is I would rather die trying to get him out of here than escape without him. How about that? He and I are dead if we stay, so even if there is a small chance we get out together it's better than no chance at all."

James was shaking his head the entire time I was talking. He was dead set against saving Edward. He didn't want to believe it wasn't happening any other way.

"If you help me get Edward, I will do anything. Anything you want. I can't leave him, James."

James stopped pacing and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "You don't make anything easy, do you, Izzy?"

"I won't leave without him."

"You'll do anything to save him? Anything?"

"Anything," I said surely.

He crouched down in front of me and grabbed my face in his hands. "Anything? You swear?"

"I swear," I answered with equal intensity. He stood up and I could see he was considering my offer. I wasn't sure how I was going to have to pay for this but whatever the cost, it would be worth it if I got Edward out of here. Anything would be worth saving him.


	35. Chapter 35 Price of Freedom

_What if I walked without you?_  
_What if I ran without you?_  
_What if I stand without you?_  
_I could not go on_  
_What if I lived without you?_  
_What if I loved without you?_  
_What if I died without you?_  
_I could not go on_  
_You left my side tonight_  
_And I, I just don't feel right_  
_But I, I can't let you out of sight_  
_Without you I'm no one, I'm nothing at all_

Without You - Three Days Grace

EPOV

My head was fucking killing me. I wanted to open my eyes but one of them was pretty much swollen shut. That happened to be the one that wasn't pressed against the nasty smelling carpet I was lying face down on. I wasn't sure I could lift my pounding head to turn it the other direction. Besides my head, my ribs were sore as shit, they ached with every intake of breath. I was knocked out twice tonight. Twice. I wouldn't be surprised if I was now mentally challenged. How many knocks outs does it take to render a perfectly intelligent man dumb as a doornail? I was hoping it was more than two. I was also hoping I wasn't going to find out how many more than two it would take. Being knocked out twice was enough for me. I groaned and decided to lie on the floor a little bit longer.

This was the worst day of my life and it wasn't over yet, at least I didn't think it was over yet. I had no idea how long I'd been out. There were no sounds, other than what I assumed was the the soft hum of the florescent lights in the room. I wasn't in the warehouse anymore. They must have carried me somewhere else. Bella. Where was Bella? I needed to wake up and find out if Bella was ok. _Roll over, _my injured brain told my equally injured body. Maybe I could roll over. Then my face wouldn't be smashed into the fucking floor. I groaned again as I tried to make my body do what I wanted it to.

"I have some ice for your face when you're ready for it."

I didn't know who was talking to me but his voice was frighteningly familiar. I opened my good eye and attempted to move my head so I could see who it was. Giant body, brown hair, bruised jaw. Yep, it was the guy who rang my fucking bell. Looked like I got one good punch in there. I propped myself up on my elbows, moaning quietly. I didn't want this guy to think I was a total puss.

"You weren't what I expected. Most men would have given up after the first hit. You, though, you showed some balls. That or you really are crazy and didn't know it," the man, I think they called him Felix, said as he threw a bag of ice at me. It landed with a crunch next to me. I laid back down and plopped the bag of ice on my eye, maybe it would help this killer headache as well.

"You were pretty much _exactly_ what I expected," I replied wearily.

Felix let out a hearty laugh. "You're funny, Cullen."

If only being funny could help get me out of this, but I seriously doubted Aro found me very funny. Man, that guy hates me. Note to self, next time you go undercover with your wife to meet with an infamous kingpin, use your real first name. Thank god I didn't choose William Wallace, I could have been fucking castrated and beheaded for _deceiving_ him. My thoughts floated back to Bella. Where was Bella and had they done anything to her? I thought Aro was going to choke her to death right in front of me. I was certain that I was going to have to stand there helpless and watch her die. I waited for someone to help her but they all just stood there. I swear for a second, I thought James was reaching for his gun. He looked like he was also unhappy with the prospects of her being strangled. Then Aro dropped her and she was breathing again - hallelujah. James was all over her. Fucker. If given the chance, I am going to kill that guy with my own two hands. Rip him apart. As soon as this fucking headache goes away.

"Will I get to see my wife again?" I asked, not sure Felix would tell me anything.

"When you're feeling better. Although, I don't know if you should be looking too forward to it." He laughed again. I didn't understand what that meant. Why wouldn't I want to see Bella?

I picked the bag of ice off my face and turned my head towards him. "Is she ok? Did someone do something to her?" I asked anxiously.

"As far as I know, she's fine. Nobody's done anything to her. Yet."

I put the bag of ice back on my face. _Yet. _They hadn't done anything to her yet. I was going to be sick. She told me in the van that no matter what they said they were going to do to her, I needed to keep my mouth shut. That seemed like terrible advice now that I knew what kind of things they were capable of doing. She tried to stop Aro from hurting me. Shouldn't I at least _try_ to stop them from hurting her? I could at least tell him I was on the phone with Emmett when I realized they were there for us. Emmett knows something happened to me and Bella. There is no way he's still at the hotel anyways. I could tell Aro that. Emmett was probably on the run by now, getting as far away from here as possible with his family. Bella was my family. She kept saying in the van that I needed to keep my family safe. _She_ was my family. I needed to protect her above everyone else.

There was a knock on the door and Felix stood up to open it. James, aka my mortal enemy, walked in.

"Is he conscious?" James asked, like an idiot. My one eye was open, obviously I was awake.

"Yeah, he came to a couple minutes ago. He should be ready to go in a little bit. I messed up his eye pretty good. Aro wants him alert and able to see, so we need to give him some more time," Felix replied with a devious grin.

"She wanted to know if he was ok. I thought I'd come and check," James said coldly, not joining Felix in his private little joke.

She wanted to see if I was ok. Bella had James come check on me and he did it?

"Is she ok?" I asked, pulling myself back up on my elbows.

James looked at me with a strange mixture of loathing and worry. He wasn't worried about me, though.

"She's fine. Izzy's going to be just fine. I'll take care of her."

Felix patted him on the back and was chuckling again, "We'll all take good care of her soon enough, huh?"

James didn't laugh with him; he made a face that almost looked pained and stepped out of the room. What a fucking confusing mess. I didn't understand what they were implying but James seemed to mean something different than Felix. I really didn't like whatever Felix was talking about. I remembered what Bella said in her mother's kitchen this morning. _I think he likes me. I think he wants to protect me. _That's what she said. That's what she truly believed. From the things I had seen and heard, I was starting to think it was possible. In the van, James was trying to convince her to tell Aro what she knew so he could get her out of this. Ok, I wouldn't kill him until he got her out of this. Then I would kill him. I laid back down and put the ice on my eye. I was so tired. Based on what it looked like outside the two big picture windows in this office, it was still the middle of the fucking night. I didn't sleep well last night without Bella and let's not forget, I had been knocked out - twice. I closed my good eye and tried to make my body relax.

Bella. I tried to focus what little brain power I had left on my Bella. I pictured her in her wedding dress, walking down the aisle towards me. My father accompanying her; a look of true pride on his face. The blush on her cheeks from being the center of attention made her that much more beautiful. She was exquisite and didn't even know it. I remember thinking I was the luckiest bastard in the entire world. I was the luckiest bastard. Lying next to her every night. Feeling her soft body under mine. My Bella. My beautiful Bella. I thoughts wandered to the night she let me take pictures of her. The night we awakened a hidden side of her. The part that embraced what a beauty she was, how sexy she was. I have never loved anyone the way I love her. I _will_ never love anyone the way I love her. Bella held my heart in the palm of her hand. It was hers and hers alone. The way she threw herself in between me and Aro tonight made me realize she loved me the exact same way. She would do anything for me, even crazy-almost-get-herself-killed kind of things.

I didn't hear the door open but I heard the thud of something hitting something else. My eye shot open and there was James squeezing the life out of Felix. I sat up and there she was - my Bella.

"Edward, are you ok? Can you stand up, baby?"

Bella was here and all I wanted to do was hold her. She helped me off the floor and I did just that. I hugged her tighter than I have ever hugged her before. I breathed in her scent and pressed my lips to her hair. It felt like it had been a lifetime since I held her in my arms.

"I love you so much. We're going to get you out of here," she whispered.

I pulled back just enough to look at her. The bump on her head looked worse and she had blood smeared on her face. A purple bruise was emerging on her neck. You could tell where Aro's fingers pressed into her delicate throat. I kissed her, not being able to think of words that would express how happy I was to see her, to be with her again. I was even happy that if we were going to die it was going to be fighting together. I just needed her to know how much I loved her, how much she meant to me. We were in the same mindset; she matched my desire with her own passionate kisses. Her arms were around my neck, her hands in my hair. It was like the entire world stopped and it was just me and my Bella.

"Izzy! Iz!" James hissed, bringing me back to reality. Felix was slumped over. James threw Bella Felix's gun and she quickly checked to see how well it was loaded. Satisfied with what she saw, she jammed it back together and pulled back on the top of it, loading a bullet in the chamber, I supposed. She shoved it in the back of her jeans and her now empty hands flew up to my face. She ran her fingers carefully across my cheeks and my jaw. She placed another kiss on my lips; this one different than the last, this one more like a goodbye than a hello.

She didn't lift her eyes to mine, instead she pressed a cheek against my chest, "Know that I love you more than anything. There's so much I wish I could tell you but we don't have time. Never doubt that you are my everything. I would do anything for you. I love you. I love you so much."

I put my hand on her face and lifted her chin up so I could see her big, brown, beautiful eyes. I wasn't expecting the sadness I saw there. I thought she was coming here to tell me everything was going to be all right, that we were going to get out of this. Now she sounded like we weren't going to see each other ever again.

"I love you, let's get the hell out of here and then we'll have forever to talk about anything and everything, right?" I gave her my crooked smile. I was being the damn light. Imagine that, I could be the fucking light in this hellhole.

She buried herself into me and I kissed the top of her head.

"We need to get going, Izzy. Can you explain the plan to him so we can get the fuck out of here?" James interrupted.

I glared at him through a narrowed eye.

"He's right," Bella said regaining my attention. "We're going to try and get past Aro and into the warehouse. Once we get in there, we're heading out the way we came in. James is going to go out and tell the outside guards that Aro wants them to move around the building. Then we hop in a car and we're out of here."

"Sounds simple enough," I said, thinking it actually sounded a little too easy.

"That's assuming no one notices us before we get into the warehouse. That's assuming there's no gunfire to alert the outside guards to a problem inside. That's assuming a lot. More things can go wrong than right," James said wryly.

Bella rolled her eyes. I could feel her tense next to me. The two of them were working together but something was off. She was highly irritated with him. It could be that he was partly to blame for us being here, but it seemed like something else.

"Edward, you need to follow me. James will go first and we will go after he makes sure things are clear."

James and Bella shared a look. Quietly, he opened the door and stepped out. Bella turned and kissed me one more time.

"I love you."

"I love you more," I said with a smile. She touched my cheek as her teeth dug into her bottom lip.

She grabbed my hand and led me out of the office. We moved slowly behind some cubicles. I could feel my heart pounding in unison with the pounding in my head. I tried to breathe, knowing I needed to be in control. I couldn't let Bella down. A door opened and one of Aro's men came out. James ignored him and Bella pulled me down out of view.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the girl?"

"Do I tell you how to do your job?" James snipped. He was an asshole but a good actor. He didn't give anything away in his tone. I don't think I could be that calm.

"God, you're an asshole."

_My thoughts exactly._

A door slammed somewhere else.

"Where the fuck is Isabella? Duncan, what the fuck?"

"Fuck," Bella barely breathed. She pulled the gun out of her waistband and motioned for me to stay put. She crept away from me to get closer to where the men were.

"What the hell are you talking about, Vlad? What the fuck did you do with her?"

I couldn't see what was happening, which only intensified my anxiety. My heart was racing. I knew this plan sounded too good to be true.

There was the sound of some scuffling and then gunfire. It amazed me how loud a gunshot really was. The banging rang in my ears. There was more yelling. Sitting on the floor, I had my back pressed against a desk. I looked over my shoulder and around the desk, trying to see where Bella was. More gunfire. I got my fucking head out of the way. A bullet to the head would definitely render me dumb. Dead, dumb, whatever. I covered my ears and I swear I could feel the whoosh of the bullets flying past me. More yelling, more shooting.

"Iz, let's go!" James yelled.

"Edward! Come on," Bella called for me. I scrambled to my feet and ran towards her. She was alive; she was fine. We headed for the warehouse, passing four dead bodies on the way.

"Wait," James stopped himself. He spun around and headed back to where we just came from. "He has to have some fucking money." James walked into one of the offices, stepping over a man on the ground.

"Are you kidding me right now? The guys outside are going to be in here any second!" Bella was flushed and angry. She bent over one of the guys on the ground. She grabbed his gun and walked over to me. "I know you've never shot one of these before but it's pretty simple." She messed with it a little and then handed it to me. "If someone is in your way of getting out of here, pull that trigger and aim for the center of his body. The gun is going to move on you. You have to hold it firmly, be ready for the kickback. Ok?"

I nodded, unable to think coherently enough to put a verbal response together. The gun was heavier in my hand than I thought it would be. I had looked at Bella's gun sitting on her nightstand so many nights in a row. I never touched, never held it. I didn't like guns, now she was asking me to use this thing if need be. _Fuck_.

James came running out of the room with a black duffle bag in one hand.

"Let's move," he directed as he led the way down a short hallway and through some doors. We were headed back to where our adventure had begun this evening. The three of us jogged across the warehouse. Bella's eyes were always scanning, her gun at the ready. My barefeet slapped loudly against the cement floor, echoing in this empty space. I wasn't sure what the fuck I should be doing with the hunk of metal in my hand. We were almost to the door when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. One of the men was hiding behind the pallets. He had his gun out and pointed in our direction, right at James.

I stopped moving and shouted out, "Watch out!"

James and Bella both stopped. The man shot and James hit the deck. I lifted up my hand and pointed the gun in the guy's direction. I pulled the trigger and closed my eyes.

Bang!

"Move!" Bella demanded, pushing me. I opened my eyes and saw the man lying on the ground.

_Holy shit. I think I just killed someone._

"Nine! Nine fucking men. Four with Aro, Felix with Edward, Vlad, and two outside. That's eight. God! You could have got us all killed!" Bella screamed petulantly at James.

"Well, good thing you checked my fucking math when we were making the plan! When did you give CK a fucking gun?" he yelled back at her.

I stared at the weapon in my hand. I killed someone, someone who was going to kill us, but still. Killing James sounded so easy a few minutes ago, but the reality of actually killing someone was not so easy for me to stomach. I dropped the gun on the ground. I was not going to shoot anyone else. I would leave that to Bella and James.

"I'm going to tell the guys outside that they need to run around to the other side of the building. That something happened and Aro needs them up there. When you hear me whistle, come out. CK, you're going to drive." James shoves some keys into my hand, the hand that shot the gun that killed the person.

James opened the door to the outside and Bella pulled me over by her. We pressed our backs to the wall next to the door. All I could hear was our heavy breathing.

"Are you ok?" she asked me.

"I'm ok," I lied. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. You saved us, you know. If you hadn't seen him, he would have shot all three of us." She looked proud of me. I still didn't know how to feel about it.

"What about Aro? Is he..."

She nodded. "James shot him. He shot Vlad, I shot the body guard before he could shoot James. We both took shots at Alec. After James took out the other bodyguard and he went in after Aro. Once we get past these guys outside, it's over."

_It's over._ Those were the best sounding words I had ever heard. Aro was dead and we were going to be done with all this shit as soon as we got our asses out of here.

James whistled and Bella looked at me with another unexpected expression of sadness.

"Don't forget. I love you more than anything in this whole fucked up world. You know that, right?"

"I know that, baby. We're going to be fine. We're getting out of here and it's over. Let's go," I said pushing her in the direction of the door.

She nodded and opened the door. She looked around before leading me outside. We ran towards James who was standing by a black Mercedes E550. I pressed the unlock button on the keychain and the car lit up. Fucking beautiful.

"You two, in front," James said, with his gun pointed towards me.

"Jeez, put that thing down," I complained stepping around him to the driver's door.

I got in the car and realized you didn't need a key, I pushed my foot down on the brake and pressed the keyless ignition. The engine roared to life, as Bella hopped in next to me and James climbed in the back. Before Bella closed the door, James said clearly, "Toss it now, Iz."

I looked at Bella, my forehead creased with confusion. She tossed her gun out of the car and slammed the door shut.

"Drive, CK. Hurry up," James bellowed from the back.

I turned my head to look behind me as I put the car in reverse. I noticed James' gun clearly pointed at the back of my head. I swallowed hard but tried to focus on driving out of here. As we pulled out of the dark parking lot, more gunfire erupted from outside. I could hear the bullets tearing through the fiberglass body of the car.

"Drive!" James shouted again.

All I could do was slam down on the accelerator. We flew and the bullets stopped coming. We were free. We fucking escaped. We did it! I couldn't stop smiling. I have never been more relieved in my whole life. Not even when the nurse told me Bella was going to live after getting shot last year. This was a whole new level of relief. I thought we both were going to die back there but instead the two of us were safe and sound. We had some bumps and bruises but we were alive and well.

James directed me where to go and scolded me for going too fast. Like I cared if I got pulled over. I wanted to get pulled over. I would love to get pulled over. The more cops the better! I looked over at Bella and grabbed her hand. She looked up at me and gave me a half smile.

"That's the best you can do, babe?" I said shaking her whole arm. "We're free! It's fucking over! You said if we got past those guys and in the car we'd be free. We did it!" I bubbled over with excitement. I squeezed her hand and waited for her face to light up. She looked straight ahead and let her hair fall so I couldn't see her face. Come on, I was being her light and we were safe. Why was she still so dark?

"Go south, here," James directed from the back.

"Don't we want to get on 90? Head home?" I questioned, having seen the signs for the expressway up ahead.

"Just do what you're told," he muttered, pushing the back of my seat with his hand.

I turned where he wanted me to go. It was dark and the clock on the dash said it was 1:30. There were no cars on the road with us. Being the very early hours of the day after Thanksgiving, I guess I could understand. I thought about how Renee said she was going to go to some Black Friday sale at 4 AM to get Phil some GPS thing for his car. Crazy women looking for a bargain were the only ones out at this time of night. I smiled at the thought of seeing Renee again. I can't imagine what it would have done to her if Bella and I hadn't made it out of there. She quite possibly could have broken again. Luckily, that was no longer an issue. We drove for a good fifteen minutes when James finally told me to pull over. We were in the middle of nowhere. We'd gone south and west of where we were. The problem was, I had no idea where the hell we were to begin with, maybe we were headed in the right direction, I was clueless. I kept thinking we should just pull over at some gas station and call the fucking cops to come pick our asses up. Instead, it looked like James wanted to stop in some train car graveyard.

"Get out of the car, Edward. I'm going to drive and this is the end of our journey together," James said opening his door.

"Fine by us. Let's go, Bella," I responded opening my door. I didn't give a fuck where he let us out. He could have the car and run off to where he was going, hiding from the police forever. Bella and I would find some help around here somewhere. Bella didn't move though. "Bella, open your door, babe. Let's go."

"CK, I told you to get out of the car. I just shot a bunch of men who were going to pay me a lot of money to kill you, please don't make me do it for free."

Bella bent over in her seat and held her head in her hands. Why the hell wasn't she getting out of the car?

"You heard him, Bella. Let's go. Baby, are you ok?" I put my hand on her head and suddenly James was out of the car and standing next to my door.

"Ok, here's the deal. You are going to get out of the car. She is not. She is coming with me. If you don't get out of the car I will shoot you and that is going to make her very unhappy. Do you want her unhappy? Because I'm pretty sure you don't. So get the fuck out of the car."

I must have had the most puzzled look on my face. His words made no sense to me.

"Bella, get out of the car!" I shouted at her. I wasn't going to listen to him. She was not going with him. She wasn't.

"Edward! She's not getting out of the car. She is leaving you. She is coming with me. Get out of the car."

I looked up at him in complete disbelief. "I saved your fucking life. I shot a man who was going to shoot you. I killed someone. I could have let him kill you, but I saved you instead. She saved you, too."

"You got it all wrong, CK. I saved your sorry ass, against my better judgement. I wanted to leave you there. You weren't part of my plan. But your survival was important to Izzy, so I had to see to it that you lived. But now, Izzy and I are going away. We wish you a long and healthy life. Now get the fuck out of the car."

He was pointing the gun at my head. I looked over at Bella who was rocking in her seat, her head in her hands, her hair like a shield, keeping me out.

"Bella," I said trying to control my tone. She wouldn't look at me and I became undone, "Bella! Get out of the fucking car!" I unbuckled her seatbelt, then I reached across her, almost climbing on her to open her door. I was going to shove her out if I had to. This asshole thought he was just going to take her? After everything we'd just been through? He thought he could have her? He was going to have to shoot me because that was only happening over my dead body.

James cried out in frustration and walked around to the other side of the car. He flung Bella's door open.

"You two, so fucking alike. Listen, CK. New deal. If you don't get out of the fucking car I am going to shoot her. I'm not going to kill her, I am going to shoot her and it is going to hurt like a bitch. She is going to be in a lot of pain. She is going to bleed. She's going to bleed so much that if I leave her with you, out here, bleeding, she will probably die before you get her help. If you get out of the car, I won't shoot her and she will not be in pain and she will not bleed to death out here in the fucking cold. It's your call and you have five fucking seconds to decide. Five, four..."

"Fuuuuuuuuck!" I screamed in defeat. I jumped out of the car and my hands pulled at my hair. He was asking me to choose between my two biggest fears - watching her bleed to death from a gunshot wound or having her taken away. Watching her bleed was something I couldn't handle. James had me figured out. I was going to kill him someday. I didn't know when, I didn't know how, but someday I was going to see him dead. My uncertainty about killing was completely gone, I would not feel any remorse when I killed James.

"See? Not so hard. Commendable choice, CK, really." James slammed Bella's door shut and walked back around to the driver's side.

"Bella! Get out of the car! Please, baby!" I didn't know what else to do. She was sitting in there, immobilized. Why the fuck wasn't she trying to get out of there? Where was Badass Bella when I needed her? The thought of her not coming home with me was pure agony, heart-ripping-out-of-my-chest agony. Tears were streaming down my face as he closed his door. I dropped to my knees; the hard, frozen ground no match to the icy chill that ran down my spine at the thought of Bella being taken by this monster. She knew. She knew he was going to do this. That's why she looked so fucking sad. He didn't want to get me out but she made him. She traded her freedom for mine. She'd do anything for me. She said that. This was not freedom, though. This was a life sentence of misery.

"Bella! Bella! Bellaaaaa!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as the car pulled away, taking with it my only reason to live. Just like that, I was broken.

**A/N: Sorry, it had to be done - Edward's worst fears come to life. Bella had to choose between her two worst fears as well - leaving him to die or leaving him to live without her. Only a few chapters left. Four more maybe and an epilogue. Thanks for all the added alerts and favorites. Let me know what you think if you have an opinion you want to share!**


	36. Chapter 36 Wanted

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.  
**  
BPOV

I covered my ears with my hands, desperate to block out the sound of Edward's cries. It was no use, though; the sound of his heart wrenching pain as he called my name would echo inside my head forever. I would surely have nightmares of him begging me to get out of the car. There was only one thing I wanted more than to get out of this car and that was for Edward to be alive. James struck a deal with me.

"_Anything?_ _ You swear?"_

"_I swear."_

"_If I get him out of here there's only one thing I want. I want you to leave with me."_

"_Of course, I'm going to leave with you. How else are we supposed to get out of here?" I answered not fully appreciating what he was asking._

"_After we're away from danger, Iz. You come with me and leave Edward here in Chicago."_

_I gave him a puzzled look. "Come with you where?"_

"_Does it matter?" he shrugged._

"_But-"_

"_You said you'd do anything. If you want me to help you get CK out of here, you have to promise that you will come with me. We'll drop CK off somewhere and take off. Find a place to hide. This is the deal I'm willing to make. Otherwise, I might just knock you out and carry you out of here over my fucking shoulder. CK be damned."_

"_James," I sighed. That was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. "You really want to add kidnapping to your list of offenses?"_

"_It's not kidnapping if you choose to go with me."_

_I shook my head at his inane attempt to make it sound like there was actual choice here._

"_I wouldn't be choosing to go with you. I would be choosing to save Edward. Two very different things. You would be making me go with you. I would not be going willingly."_

_He looked dejected. He stood up and started his mad pacing again._

"_This is my deal, take it or leave it, Izzy. If you want CK to have a shot of seeing his next birthday, you can't fight me when it comes time to leave him behind. You'll come with me and let me try to love you."_

"_Try to love me? Are you fucking mental?" I asked, trying to reign in my frustration._

"_Time's a wastin'. I need an answer," he said tapping on his wrist._

_I would have to give in. It was the only way. I needed James' help to get Edward out. There was no other way for me to get him out of this mess. _

"_Fine, I won't fight you if you get us both out. I'll stay with you, if you promise to let him go safely. You cannot hurt him. He has to be safe."_

"_Deal."_

Deal. It was the deal I made. It was the deal that was breaking my heart now. When James told Edward to get out of the car, I knew I couldn't look at him. If I looked at Edward, I was going to lose it. If I saw his face when he realized I couldn't go with him, I would die. Just hearing his voice was hard enough. This was his big fear - losing me. He was going to fall apart over this. I couldn't think that way. I had to believe Esme, Carlisle, my mom, Emmett, Rose - that they would take care of him. They would be there for him. They would not let him lose himself over losing me. James was going to kill me because I wasn't going to love him back. Once reality sunk in, James would kill me because he was obviously insane and I saw how lethal he could be. The family would take care of Edward. He would be ok.

_What if he's not?_

Doubt started to cloud my thinking. Did I really think Carlisle could support him? He jumped all over him yesterday even though he was told repeatedly that Edward was not the one in the wrong. He was so hard on Edward, still too hard on him. What if he made Edward feel guilty for letting me go? Edward couldn't handle that kind of guilt. My mother loved Edward to no end. Could she support him through this? She was going to be grieving me, too. Historically, she didn't handle this kind of loss well. Who was I kidding? My mother consistently falls apart during stressful situations. My mother is a alcoholic who drinks to escape her sorrow. How the hell is she going to help Edward? Emmett and Rose. They're most likely on the Hale jet, flying who knows where. Once they get word that Aro is dead, they'll go back to Seattle. They won't be there for Edward. He'll be alone. Watching my mother deconstruct, dealing with his judgmental father, knowing his brother has everything and he has nothing. I began to sob into my knees; I was curled into the tightest ball possible.

"Izzy, don't cry." James' hand slipped under my hair and started rubbing my back. His touch did the trick - the sadness evaporated and was replaced with raging anger.

I unwrapped myself to shove his hand away roughly. "Don't touch me!"

"Hey!" he swerved the car a little. "You know I wasn't really going to shoot you, right? I mean, I said that so CK would get out of the car. I wouldn't hurt you like that, I swear."

Crazy. He was completely crazy.

"You wouldn't hurt me like that? How would you hurt me? I mean, what's the plan, James? Are we going to drive to some shady motel so you can have your way with me or are you just going to pull the car over on some deserted road and do it in the car here? Maybe we can hop in the backseat, it looks pretty roomy back there. That's what this is all leading up to, right? You'll do whatever your sick, fucking mind has been fantasizing about and then what? Then you'll shoot me?"

He looked horrified. "I'm not going to, to force myself on you, Izzy. I, I love you. I couldn't," he stammered.

"You love me? This is not how you show someone you love them, you idiot! You don't rip them away from everything and everyone they love and force them to be with you. That's not love. That's being a sick, selfish asshole. Love is not selfish."

"Let's not talk about this right now. You're upset. We can talk about how this is going to work later."

"I'm upset? I'm not _upset_, jackass. I'm dead. You think we need to talk about how this is going to work? This isn't going to work!" I screamed. He was delusional and I was fried. I wasn't sure how much more stress my mind and body could take. I had been awake for almost 48 hours and on high alert for the last five. Maybe I was crazy. I didn't know anymore.

James pulled the car over and slammed it in park.

"You want me to treat you like you're kidnapped? Turn your back to me!" When I didn't move right away he grabbed me hard on the shoulders and forced me around. "Turn around! Put you hands behind your back!"

I did as he said and felt the cold metal of the handcuffs around my wrists. He locked them in place and then shifted the car back in drive.

"Now, shut up or I will gag you until the sun comes up!" His rage was overwhelming. He took a minute to calm himself, his grip on the steering wheel making his knuckles white. Once he regained his composure he spoke again more to himself than me, "You just need some time, time to adjust to a new life, a different life, with me."

Completely delusional. He really believed I was going to come to terms with this. He really thought I could fall in love with him. I couldn't help crying again. I didn't make any noise, but that didn't stop the torrent of tears. I put my feet up on the dash in front of me and wiped my face with my knees. Leaning back, I closed my eyes. I was so exhausted. There was no fight left in me right now.

"_Would it be wrong to stay inside for an entire week when there's a gorgeous white sand beach and crystal blue water right outside that door?" Edward's voice was so light and relaxed. We had slept soundly after several rounds of love-making last night. I was amazed at how different it felt. Being married made me feel more connected to him, more in love - something I didn't think was possible. Getting to spend the rest of my life with this man seemed like a dream. The greatest dream I'd ever had. _

"_Probably. I mean, we paid a lot of money to come here. We're suppose to enjoy the sights, relax on that beach, frolic in that water," I replied, trailing my fingertips down his chest._

"_You planned on frolicking, did you?"_

_I giggled. "I'm totally a frolicker. I love frolicking."_

_His chest shook with his easy laughter._

"_I can't wait to see you frolic. That'll be awesome." He tightened his arms around me and sighed. "But for the life of me, I cannot bring myself to want to get out of this bed. There is part of me that wants to lie naked in this bed with you for the whole week. I mean, no one will blame us. It's our honeymoon. I believe it's actually a rule that at least one day needs to be spent in the honeymoon suite."_

"_A rule, huh? You know how I hate breaking the rules," I said looking up at him seriously._

"_A law maybe. Yeah, it's law," he nodded, trying his hand at being serious._

"_Well, as an officer of the law, I don't think I can allow you to get out of this bed."_

_His copper hair fell in his eyes. I pushed it out of the way so I could look at those beautiful, twinkling, green orbs. His smile was causing the crow's feet around his eyes to appear. I scooted up to plant a kiss on his lips. He returned my kiss passionately. Our tongues tasting and playing at the same time. His hand caressed my cheek and he rolled on top of me. _

"_Of course, we're allowed to move around the room. We can try out the shower, the balcony, the couch over there," he quipped as he lowered his head to kiss me again. His mouth moved with mine and then down my neck to my chest._

"_I was wondering how long it was going to take you to suggest we move this to the bathroom." I smiled, as he moved down my body and tickled my stomach with his chin whiskers. I closed my eyes so I could focus solely on the feeling of his mouth on my skin._

"_Don't ever leave me, Bella," he demanded softly._

"_I would never leave you. I'm yours forever."_

"_Don't go." His voice was shaky, almost fearful._

"_I'm here," I reassured him._

"_Bella," he called from somewhere far away. I couldn't feel him on top of me anymore. My eyes opened and searched the room for him._

"_Bella!" he cried. He sounded so heartbroken but he was not in the room with me._

"_Izzy."_

_No. No, no, no, no. I looked around for the source of that voice. _

"_Izzy, wake up."_

James' hand was on my shoulder, shaking me out of my dream. Reality came crashing around me and it took everything I had not to start crying. Sunlight filled the car. I looked at the clock on the dash. It was after seven. I had been asleep a long time. We were on a highway surrounded by nothing but farm fields. Based on the fact that the sun was hanging low in the sky behind us, I gathered we were headed west. We must have been in Iowa or something. I lifted my feet back up on the dash and wiped the crust out of my eyes with my knees. My arms ached from being cuffed behind my back.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" James asked. He was talking to me like we were some friendly road trip together. "I got some water and some snacks at the last stop."

_The last stop?_ Shit. I must have been completely out of it. He dared to make some pit-stops while I was asleep.

"I need to use the bathroom," I croaked. My throat was dry, I needed some of that water, too.

James didn't say anything, he just pulled over and put the car in park.

"Turn around," he said pulling the keys to the handcuff out of his pocket. He unlocked the cuffs and then stared at me. "Go ahead," he finally said, waving his hand like he was shooing me away.

"Here?"

"Well, I can't exactly take you in a public place, now can I? You being kidnapped and all," he said sarcastically as if it wasn't the truth.

"I have to pee, on the side of the road?"

"Look, I even got you a present." He reached in the backseat and pulled out a pack of toilet paper.

Did he go grocery shopping while I was asleep? How tired was I? I climbed out of the car after grabbing the roll he held out for me. I stomped off into the long grass on the side of the road. I thought about running but where the hell would I run to? There were a few cars flying by but much too fast for me to stop one of them. It was humiliating to have to go to the bathroom out in the open like that. Once I finished, I stalked back to the car and looked behind at the cars coming our direction. If I ran out, someone would stop. Someone would have to stop, but then James would probably shoot them.

The window rolled down. "If you try to stop someone, I'll have to shoot them. You wouldn't want that, Iz."

God, he can read my fucking mind. I got back in the car and he shoved a water bottle at me. He smiled and pulled back onto the highway. He was wearing aviator sunglasses and a John Deere baseball hat. Must be trying to blend in with the locals. We don't stick out at all in our fancy Mercedes. Maybe state patrol trying to pick up holiday speeders will hear the alert and get lucky enough to find us.

"We're gonna have to switch cars soon. They'll have the alerts looking for a black Mercedes and with the Thanksgiving travelers, some lucky state patrolman could spot us and blow everything."

I was really starting to believe he could hear everything I was thinking. Maybe I was saying things out loud and not noticing.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?" I grumbled.

"I'm not going to put the handcuffs back on, don't make me rethink the gag." He smirked and then put his hand on my knee, shaking my leg slightly. "I'm kidding, Izzy. I'm kidding. I need you to talk to me, so I can stay awake. I drove all night and we have a long way to go."

I turned to look at him, dumbfounded. "How can you act like everything is normal? How can you just sit there and talk to me like we're two friends taking a cross-country drive?"

"Everything can be normal, Izzy. If you let it be."

I gaped at him speechless for a moment. Then I found my voice, "James, two minutes ago you warned me that you would shoot an innocent person if I got them to pull over and help me. You are holding me captive. That is not normal."

"You're right. Let me rephrase that, as soon as you realize that we can be happy together, then we can be normal. I thought about this while you slept. I'm not going to shoot you and I'm not going to threaten to shoot you because eventually you're going to figure out that I can't hurt you like that. I want you and I need you, so I am not going to hurt you if you try to get away."

My heart sped up a little. He wouldn't try to hurt me if I tried to leave. He cared about me. I should go for it. Just run.

"I will, however, hurt the person you try to get help from or I will take out whoever is closest if you try to run. I know you. I know you wouldn't want anyone to get hurt because of you. There is no one I care about but you. Everyone else on this entire planet is disposable. Believe me. I think that once you understand that and you get used to the idea that we can get along, everything will be very normal."

So much for the running idea. My heart nearly stopped. He would kill innocent people if I tried to get away. I did not doubt this. James was crazy like a fox. He was certifiable but he knew exactly what he was doing. He had me figured out perfectly. I would risk my own life but not someone else's. The only way I was getting out of this was if I killed him. That's the only way I could be sure no one else would get hurt.

"So, I'm thinking we can forget about the handcuffs. I'm assuming you are going to be on your best behavior. You want some Twizzlers?" he asked, reaching in the back seat again and pulling out some candy. I frowned and could only stare. "I'll take that as a no," he sighed.

Killing him wouldn't be easy. I couldn't attempt and fail because that would lead to someone else getting hurt. Maybe I could steal his gun when he falls asleep. Or I could strangle him in his sleep.

"I don't really sleep, by the way."

_That is freaky shit. _

"I mean, I sleep. Sometimes. But not much and very lightly. So, you don't have to talk to me but I like talking to you," he said in response to the look of complete disbelief on my face.

"Pick a number one to a hundred," I challenged.

28, I thought relentlessly.

"Why?"

"Just do it. Pick a number."

28, I repeated in my head over and over.

"Um, 47?"

I exhaled loudly in relief. He couldn't actually read my mind. No, he couldn't. Of course, he couldn't. I rubbed my eyes. I was such a mess. I was losing my mind - most definitely. The tears were fighting their way back.

"Did I get it?" James asked quirking a brow.

"No, you didn't get it. You don't get anything. You really don't get anything."

"Izzy,"

"No, really. I mean, how do you not see how ridiculous this all is? You killed Aro Volturi, one of the most wanted men in the country. We saved each other's life more than once and now there's only two ways this story ends. I kill you or you kill me."

"I'd never kill you, Iz."

I turned my head and rested it against the window. The empty fields zipping past us, browns and yellows instead of the greens of a few months ago. Everything outside looked dead, the way I felt on the inside. "Well, then I guess it can only end one way. Such a waste."

"We'll see," he whispered.

We drove another hour without talking at all. We were about 80 miles outside of Omaha, according to the last sign we passed. James broke the silence first, letting me know he wanted to get a different car before we got to a big city. I needed to know where we were headed. If I could leave some sort of sign behind so people would know where to look for us, maybe I wouldn't have to kill him after all. Maybe someone could find me.

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking out the window. I don't know how he could stand the mundanity of this drive after being awake for so many hours.

"Somewhere no one will find us."

Back to the fucking mind reading.

"Where would that be exactly?"

"I have a place, well, it's my mom's place. Used to belong to my grandparents, became my mom's when they died. It's a cabin hidden away in Tillamook State Forest. We used to go there sometimes when I was a kid. I spent a couple weeks every summer there. My mom pays the bills but never goes there. No one will ever connect me to it. It's in my mom's name. It's pretty out there. You'll like it."

_I'll like it?_ His fantasy was so annoying. My eye rolling and heavy sighs had no impact on him, however. We were driving all the way to Oregon. Lost in the forests out there. I needed to at least direct people to Oregon. Whoever found this car in the fucking outskirts of Omaha had to know that we weren't stopping until we hit the far west coast. He was heading home. They would have to realize that. I flipped the visor down and looked at myself in the small mirror. I looked like shit. No wonder why he had to keep me out of the public eye. I had a huge bump and bruise on my forehead that was split open and scabbed over. There were ugly purplish bruises on my neck from Aro choking me last night. Dried blood was on my face and shirt. I was a disaster. God, if one person looked at me they would see that I was in need of some fucking help. Are people really that unobservant? I reached in the backseat for the roll of toilet paper I had used at my pitstop. I tore some off and wet it down with the bottled water I had been sipping on. I proceeded to clean myself up, scrubbing at the disgusting brownish red blood on my forehead. I needed something to write with. I had paper. There was nothing I could see that I could use. If I went searching too vigorously, James would become suspicious. I leaned over the seats again and figured I would pull out the Twizzlers in an attempt to see what else he had in these bags back here. Food, water, a newspaper. Maybe he wanted to make sure we didn't make the news yet. Nothing I could use to write a message. I sat back down and looked back at my reflection in the visor mirror. There was one thing I could write with, I could leave my message in blood. It was gross but they would know it was me for sure. I ran my fingers over the scab on my forehead.

We searched out a new car in a town just outside Omaha. James found an older Camry in a crowded parking lot outside the Woodbury Shopping Center. Stealing a car in broad daylight was risky but he was smart enough to pick a car carefully. People here to shop after Thanksgiving sales were most likely going to be in there awhile. He scouted the lot. Watching people come and go before settling on the Camry. He was a damn good criminal. We parked and he reminded me of the rules. If I alerted anyone to what was going on he would not hesitate to shoot them. We sat in the car a few minutes. He grabbed the black duffle bag he had taken from Aro and told me to leave everything else. He got out of the car while I waited for him to get the new car.

I watched people walking to their cars, enjoying their day of holiday shopping. Families out together. Teenagers there to just hang out. Women with the look of victory on their faces as they loaded their trunks with the bargains they had found. The urge to run was so strong. I wanted to jump out of the car and scream for someone to call 911 but if I did that, he would start shooting. He would shoot whoever was closest to him. He'd do it to punish me. I would have some innocent person's blood on my hands and I would never be able to live with that. Damn him. I unfolded the square of toilet paper I had place under my legs. While we were driving I had, as best I could, written OR in my blood. It was horribly messy but whoever found this car would definitely be able to make out that this was purposeful. I slipped it in the glove box and prayed he would have no reason to go in there. A horn honked and I could see James parked behind me in the new getaway car. I hopped out of the car, keeping my head down as he had directed. A woman and her little boy were walking towards us and I turned my head enough to look at them. The little boy was tugging on his mother's arm and trying to get her lift him off the ground.

"Mommy, please. I want to be a monkey. Swing me," he demanded.

"Edward Russell Cooper, you have been testing my last nerve! Now please, just walk to the car like a big boy," his mother scolded.

The sound of that name caused my heart to crack wide open. I reached to open the car door, averting my eyes from the boy with the same name as the only man I would ever love. I sunk into the seat and couldn't stop myself from watching them as they walked past. Little Edward was still pushing his mother's buttons with a big, silly grin on his face. I closed my eyes as the tears began to fall once more.

We only made two stops for food and gas all through Nebraska, which seemed like the longest drive of my life. Again, I don't know how James could stay awake during this drive. I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness, mainly due to sheer boredom. I didn't dream again, though, which was good. We made it half way through Wyoming when he informed me we would need to stop so he could sleep a few hours. He found a motel that was a total dump in a small town called Wamsutter. He seemed to be feeling a little more paranoid and forced me to put the handcuffs back on, making me wrap my arms around my legs so I wouldn't go anywhere.

Once we were in the room, he let me move freely.

"We need to get you some new clothes. You got blood all over your sweater. You need a jacket, too. Maybe some boots, so we can hike in the forest near the house. There are some lakes around there, too. Maybe we could buy a couple fishing poles." He was rambling off his little list, living in his perfect fantasy world where we were going to be this happy couple. I guess he imagined us hiking and fishing, having tons of outdoor adventure. With any luck, I could drown him in the lake. That's the only thing I would be thinking about if we got near water.

I turned on the TV, interested to see if there was any news of Aro or me and James. I flipped through the channels looking for CNN. CNN Newsroom was on and sure enough, they were discussing the Volturi. Aro and his men had been found shot to death in the office building on the south side of Chicago. Pictures of me and James flashed on the screen. The reported stated James was armed and dangerous. They believed I was being held against my will. James was wanted in connection with not only the kidnapping of me but the murders of Mr. and Mrs. Cope, the false imprisonment of Edward, and possibly other crimes yet to be determined. They began reporting on James and what was known about him. They showed reporters trying to talk to a woman.

"Jesus, they found my mother?" James groused, taking a seat next to me on the bed. The reporters were hounding her with questions as she tried to walk from her car to her front door. On the bottom of the screen it said they were in Portland, Oregon. James' mother was in her early sixties. She was blond like him, thin, and kind of disheveled. She looked worn out; she looked like she had a hard life. A cigarette was dangling from her lips and when she got to her front stoop she flicked it right in the face of the man trying to ask her questions. "They better hope she's not cycling today. She could take them all out."

"Cycling?" I asked, unsure of his meaning.

"My mom is bipolar. Manic depressive. More manic than depressive. The woman sometimes thinks she's invincible and sometimes she seems to be," he explained, keeping his eyes on the TV. He watched his mother walk into her house with no comment about her son's possible connection to the Volturi or his relationship with me.

The report switched back to the studio and there was discussion about me. Then, there on the screen was Edward. I bit into my bottom lip to avoid screaming out. He was being ushered out of a police station. He had a CPD jacket on and was surrounded by a couple officers as well as Emmett, Carlisle, and my mother. He didn't look up at the camera, his head ducked down as the cameras and reporters followed him, shouting questions. They wanted to know how he got away, did he know why James took me with him, what was Aro going to do with him and me. He had the blankest look on his face. Emmett and Carlisle were helping to push people back. Emmett looked stressed to the max. My mother was clinging to Edward's arm. She, too, looked stressed. Not good. James grabbed the controller from me and switched it off. That was all I was going to get. He was alive. He was safe. He was with our family. They were all going to take care of him. I fell back on the bed and pressed the back of my hands over my eyes. I didn't want to cry again. I was so tired of crying. I needed to toughen up, find James' weaknesses, start figuring out how to get out of this mess.

"Looks like I am a wanted man. We're going to have to be more careful about where we stop, how many people get a good look at me."

"You're always going to be a wanted criminal, James. I don't see how you think we can live a normal life when you constantly have to worry about being identified. Add me into the mix and someone's bound to recognize you. You'd be better off letting me go and trying to hide on your own." I sat up, turning towards him. "That or turn yourself in. You saved me and Edward from certain death and who knows what else. That's going to help you in getting some leniency for the other stuff. I'll even testify to the fact that you treated me well, you were just scared and confused. I promise."

James leaned over, placing his elbows on his knees. He shook his head as he looked at the ground.

"No more CK. We're not going to talk about him or think about him anymore. I don't want to hear his name ever again," he said angrily. The word cycling popped in my head. Yeah, I knew about cycling emotions. He was always throwing something different my way. He took a couple deep breaths and then started again, "I'm not turning myself in, Izzy. It's live with you or die without you. There's nothing else for me. I'm not going to jail. I wouldn't survive a day in there. Marcus and Caius would see to that. I want you. I want a life with you and even if it's only a couple days, a month, a year - it will be worth every second. I'm going to shower. Either you come in with me or I have to handcuff you again."

I held my hands out, opting for the restraints over the never-ever-ever-happening couple's shower. He wasn't going to change his mind about this. He was not going to give himself up. We were back where we started. This could only end with one of us taking the other's life. He didn't think he was was up to killing me, yet; but I was ready to do whatever. I was going to get home to the man who wanted me more than anyone. Edward. I couldn't say his name out loud but I could defiantly think about it all I wanted. He couldn't stop me from doing that. Edward. Edward. Edward.

**A/N: This was a tough chapter to write. Hope it turned out ok. Next up is going to be a special guest POV. You'll have to wait until Tuesday to see who it is! Thanks for all the encouragement through reviews and added alert and favorites! **


	37. Chapter 37 Give Me a Sign

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. I said Tuesday and I am making it just in time. Thanks to the Breaking Benjamin song Give Me a Sign for the title of this one. I don't know what the song is really about but I could hear Emmett thinking some of the lyrics and Edward thinking some of them, too. Big brother Emmett is trying hard to take care of all of the Cullens. Not an easy task. Enjoy!**

Emmett POV

_I can feel you falling away  
No longer the lost  
No longer the same  
And I can see you starting to break  
I'll keep you alive  
If you show me the way  
Forever and ever the scars will remain_

_I'm falling apart  
Leave me here forever in the dark  
_Give Me a Sign - Breaking Benjamin_  
_

My brother was a zombie. A lifeless zombie. It was starting to freak me out.

Edward has always been the life of the party. Edward the Entertainer. His big lopsided smile, his stupid jokes, that fire in his eyes, and his infectious laugh - these were the things you couldn't help but notice about him when you meet him. My brother could always make me laugh, both on purpose and without even trying. That's not to say the kid didn't drive me nuts at times. When we were growing up, Edward could find trouble without even looking for it. He and my dad were always at odds. The kid had no fear. My friends would dare him to do things and he'd do it without even thinking about it. Drink something that could possibly kill you for five bucks? _Sure! _Jump off the roof and try to make it over the patio and into the pool? _Absolutely! _Steal baseball cards from the store? _Edward will do it!_ Set off fireworks in the basement when your parents are gone and almost set the whole house on fire, causing your older brother to almost have a heart attack at the ripe old age of 15? _Did that! _

It's amazing that my poor mother survived his childhood. I know he thinks our parents favor me, but I know that my mother loves Edward more than anything in this world. I'm sure it has something to do with him being the baby of the family or the fact that he was born so small and she had to take special care of him when he was little. Whatever it is, Edward owns a piece of Mom's heart that no one else can touch. He's clueless about it. He sometimes misconstrues her concern for disapproval, but my mom has always been 100% Team Edward. Dad is another story, he never got Edward. Dad got what Edward meant to Mom, though. It pissed him off that Edward never got it. Edward doesn't notice the way she looks at him or the things she does because she knows it makes him happy. He has no idea how many times she asked me to make sure he was ok or to be nicer to him or to protect him from everything including himself. She would constantly worry about him, she still worries about him. We all worry about him. As much as Edward drives you crazy, you can't help but want him to be happy. Happy Edward was like watching a kid at Christmas. He glows like a light. Ever since we picked him up at the police station, however, that light was out. It wasn't even on dim, it was completely extinguished.

For almost two days, I have watched my brother sit in my parents' hotel suite, speaking only when spoken to and usually only muttering a word or two in response, if that. He hasn't slept more than an hour or two and hasn't really eaten anything. He certainly doesn't smile or joke or laugh. None of the things that make Edward, Edward. I get it. I've been there. How many brothers can say they've both had their wives kidnapped? The Cullen brothers have that honor all to themselves. Rosalie was missing for about 24 hours and it was the absolute worst 20-some hours of my entire life. It felt like someone took away all the meaning in my life. I kept breathing and my heart still beat in my chest, but there seemed like no reason for it if Rosalie wasn't going to come back. I definitely got what Edward was going through. Bella had been missing for two days and we were no closer to finding her than we were yesterday. What this was doing to my brother was catastrophic; it was cataclysmic. It was what Bella feared all along.

Bella and I had so many conversations over the last week or so. The more we pieced together, the more she was adamant about not telling Edward certain things. I wasn't sure what that was about until she explained her fear of Edward deconstructing should anything happen to her. As soon as we knew James was involved in this in some way, Bella knew she was in danger. Bella went on and on about Edward touching her scar and how he did that when he was nervous. I guess he was doing it more and more lately. She said something about how he's so much like her mom and that it freaked her out. Edward and Renee think the same way, they're on the same wavelength. When they're up - they're so high up they lift everyone around them, but when they're down - watch out. I knew enough about Renee from Rosalie to know that Bella had dealt with some pretty crazy stuff growing up. I didn't see Edward being like that until the day before Thanksgiving when he started drinking as soon as I told him about Aro and Tanya. He didn't stop drinking until Rose threatened to kick his ass. I saw what Bella was stressing about. I didn't think he was going to go all alcoholic on me, but the potential for self-destruction was there. I mean, at that point, he didn't even know what we knew about James. I knew why Bella didn't tell him. Who knows what he would have done with that information. I imagined crazy, out of control Edward - not this shell that sat before me.

The last couple days had been hard on all of us. From the moment Edward screamed into the phone until we got the call that he had been found alive, I imagined the worst. I was certain that my life, my career, my choices, had gotten my brother and his wife killed. The guilt of that weighed so heavy on my heart. But Edward was alive. He had escaped Aro. No one escapes from Aro, but Edward was sitting in a Chicago police station waiting for us to come and get him. Bella was not with him but they had reason to believe she was still alive, just being held by James. When I heard that, I knew we weren't going to pick up the Edward we all knew. My dad and I fought with my mom about who should go to the station. I didn't want my mom to see him until I saw him. I needed to be able to shield her from as much as possible. Dad was going no matter what, as was Renee. Mom relented and agreed to stay with Rosalie and Lily.

I knew he was going to be a wreck. I prepared myself for an Edward who was angry and scared. I figured he was going to be desperate to get Bella back, all impulse and rage. I was not ready for my brother to look - vacant. I sat there while he robotically answered the detectives' questions. No emotion, no affect on his face or in his voice. His eyes were blank as he recalled the night's events. Aro made him fight one of them until he was knocked out, which would explain why his face was messed up. Bella gave him a gun and he had to use it on one the guards in the warehouse. My brother had to kill someone, one of the bad guys in self defense, but still traumatic. When the questioning focused on James taking off with Bella, I saw my brother's expression change. Not in a good way. Edward's pain was tangible. It was as if he was reliving the moment in his head. Every torturous second of James threatening to shoot Bella if Edward didn't get out of the car and Bella hunched over, refusing to get out of the car, refusing to look at Edward. Once he finished describing the worst moment of his life, he closed himself right back off. He went back to looking empty. We waited around for some paperwork and to meet with one more detective. Renee and Edward spent several minutes in a tight embrace, whispering back and forth. He cried with her but I couldn't decide if they were going to be good for one another or not.

We went back to the hotel, unable to go to Edward's condo because of its crime scene status. Several of the detectives from Bella's division called and stopped by. Her captain came by to personally talk with Edward and promised to do everything in his power to find Bella and figure out who was responsible in the CPD for allowing the Volturi the opportunity to get their man inside. It was a media frenzy, as well. There were reporters waiting for us outside the police station, media following us to the hotel, and then reporters camped outside the hotel for the next couple days waiting for comment. We had Renee make the family statement, hoping that if James and Bella saw the news her sadness and loss would appeal to whatever decency the guy had. Putting Edward in front of the camera would have been the worst thing to do, if he were even capable of making an entire statement. Edward could only sit, a prisoner to his own dark and twisted thoughts.

Our mom was not handling Silent Edward very well. After sitting with him all Friday afternoon and witnessing the nightmare he had last night when he finally got a little bit of sleep, she spent the majority of the next day focusing all of her attention and energy on Lily. I didn't blame her, he was hard to be around. Rosalie moved back and forth between our room and my parents'. Alice and Jasper, unable to do anything that could help the situation, regretfully went back to Seattle on Saturday afternoon as originally planned. Alice begged Rosalie to text her with every single update. No matter how big or small. Renee and Phil went home as well, having spent the night and most of the day in hopes of some news that never came.

As darkness began to shadow the room, I left Edward, Rose, and Dad, to go check on Lily and Mom. I found my mother sitting on the edge of the bed watching my daughter sleeping soundly in her pack-n-play.

"Shh, she just fell asleep," my mom whispered when I walked in the room.

"Her napping schedule has been off a little this weekend. She's been quite the trooper, considering, huh?"

"She's perfect, Emmett. Absolutely perfect." My mother smiled sweetly but it was obvious her heart was hurting.

I looked down at my sleeping beauty. Lily was the most perfect being on the planet. My heart never felt so full than when I was near her. The time we had spent apart this month was horrible. I missed her more than I thought possible.

"I didn't know you could love someone this much, you know?" I said looking back at my mom.

Tears filled her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled slightly. "What if she dies and he stays like this forever?"

We weren't talking about Lily anymore. We were talking about her baby, now. I sat on the bed next to her and put my arm around her small frame.

"Mom, he's been through a horrific experience. This isn't going to be his norm. Hell, he's still in shock."

She let herself fall against me and laid her head on my shoulder. "If she dies, if she's dead, he'll be traumatized forever. He'll blame himself for letting her go. I know him. I know how he thinks."

"We won't let him do that to himself. I won't let him. I promise."

"Remember when he used to act like nothing bothered him? When he'd make some joke or laugh at every disaster he had a hand in? I knew, I knew he was just covering up how he really felt. I knew that when he failed at something, he was really disappointed. I knew when your father was angry with him, he was really hurt. When they fought, it bothered Edward terribly. He played it off. He was very good at convincing everyone that he didn't care. He cares, Em. He has always cared. But when it comes to her," Mom stopped and smashed her lips together so she didn't sob out loud. She couldn't even say Bella's name. Ever since Edward got here, she couldn't bring herself to say her name aloud, it was like she thought just hearing it would break him. "His feelings for her are like nothing else. He can't pretend. He feels so much, he can't hide it. Do you know how deep his pain must be to let us all witness it?"

I hugged her tightly as she let herself cry. I hated it when my mom cried. I didn't know what to say that would make her stop.

"He's not really showing us very much right now. He's numb, I think."

"He's not numb, sweetheart. He wants to be numb, he sits there frozen in his grief. He's just waiting to be destroyed."

She was right. If Bella dies, or God forbid was already dead, Edward would be destroyed. I figured being optimistic was the best strategy.

"Edward is going to be fine, Mom. No matter what happens, we're here for him and we'll help him through it. Bella is strong and smart. She isn't going to let this guy get the best of her. She also loves Edward as much as he loves her. She's going to fight to stay alive and see him again."

"God, I hope you're right."

"Hey, you're talking to the guy who's always right. Now, no more crying," I teased, rubbing her arm and kissing her head.

She sat upright and wiped her face with her hands. Her eyes fell back to Lily. "Someday, this little angel is going to come to you and she's going to be crying because someone said something that hurt her feelings or some boy broke her heart. Then you'll know. You'll know how hard it is to watch your baby hurting and there's nothing you can do or say to make it better. You can only watch and wait. Pray that they heal. It's the part of parenthood that all the books and experts don't tell you about. It's the hardest part of all."

Man, Bella needed to come home. She needed to come home safe and sound. For all our sakes.

After hugging my mother a few more minutes, I headed back to the other room. My dad was on the phone.

"Thank you. I'll let him know, yes. Thank you. Have a good night," he said before hanging up. He looked at me and then went to sit by Edward. "They found the Mercedes. Outside of Omaha. They believe he took a car that was reported missing from the same lot on Friday. They left behind some bottles of water and some snack food. Toilet paper." He looked at me and made a face at the last item. I shrugged as he continued, "The detectives wanted you to know that they found a note or something that they think Bella left. Um, they think she wrote OK on a piece of toilet paper so the police would find it. They think she wanted you to know that she's ok. That's good, right?"

"That's good news, Edward. He's taking care of her," I stopped myself. Was I a fucking idiot? Did I really just say he was taking care of her? Edward's hand flew to his hair and began tugging it relentlessly. He didn't speak. "I mean he's giving her food and water. If he was going to kill her, he wouldn't do those things." Edward groaned and his head fell forward. I should stop talking. I was not making this better, my own sleep deprivation making it hard to not be stupid.

"I think what you're brother is trying to say is there's still hope we're going to find her and she's going to be fine. She's letting you know she's ok," my dad interjected. Yeah, that's what I meant. Edward didn't respond. He held his head in his hands.

"He's taking her west. Maybe their headed towards Portland. I'm sure they have state patrols looking for the new car all along I-80. They'll find them. It won't be long now, man. They'll find her," I said, sitting down on the other side of him and patting him on the back.

Edward got up abruptly and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door. I heard the click of the lock and looked over at my dad and then at Rosalie, who was sitting silent in a chair by the window. She gave me a small smile and pulled out her phone, I'm assuming to text Alice the latest news.

"I hope they find her soon. I don't know how much more of this he can take," Dad said nervously running his hand through his blond hair.

My dad has always been Edward's biggest critic, but he loved him. Dad didn't know how to handle Edward. He thought if he pointed out all of the things Edward could have done or should have done, it would make Edward do the right thing the next time. Instead, Edward almost purposely set out to make the same mistakes over and over just to annoy Dad. The last year, though, Dad had seen that letting Edward be Edward could be ok. Edward had talents and abilities that Bella got him to explore more seriously. He was so happy with Bella. I had never seen him happier than on his wedding day. They complimented each other in personality and strengths. Sure, sometimes they pushed each other's buttons but not everyone can be perfect like me and Rosalie. Bella was perfect for Edward, though. Dad saw that right away. He saw how she made him better. I think Dad was starting to worry that without her, Edward would go back to that guy hellbent on making the wrong choices.

"They'll find her," I replied, patting him on the back the same way I had Edward.

"Alive?"

His question was like a punch to the gut. How the hell was I supposed to know? I sure hoped so. Dad and Mom were both fearing the worst. The worst for Bella but more so the worst for Edward. Dad didn't want to see the hurt in his son's eyes any more than Mom did.

"Alive. Of course." I stood up, needing to hold Rosalie in my arms.

__________

I held Rosalie tightly as we laid in bed awake even though it was after 2 AM.

"I wonder where she is, you know?" Rose said into the darkness. "All day I've tried to imagine where she is. When your dad said the car was in Omaha, I got on my phone and tried to figure out on Google Maps where she could be. They must have stopped somewhere. He couldn't drive all the way to Portland without stopping. How is it that no one has seen her yet? Why isn't she trying to get someone's attention?"

I hugged her closer. "I'm sure she _is_ trying to get someone's attention. She's smart. When the opportunity to escape presents itself, she'll find it and take it."

"I know. I keep telling myself that. I wonder if he has her tied up, if she can move or not, if he let's her sleep. It's really hard to sleep tied to a chair. Almost impossible," her voice cracked a little.

My angel, Rose. I wish I had been the one to shoot the bullet through Newton for what he did to her. The thought of Rosalie tied up, gagged, and blindfolded was unbearable. She must have been beyond afraid. We talked about it a little bit after the whole thing happened but she really didn't want to focus on it. It was over and everyone she cared about was ok, that was all she wanted to think about, so I didn't push her. I didn't think about how what was happening to Bella would bring back those memories for her.

"If Newton wasn't already dead, I would kill him again myself."

"I know," she whispered, kissing me under the chin.

"She left a note saying she was ok. She couldn't have written a note if she was tied up."

"What does he do with her when he sleeps?"

I reached over and flipped on the bedside lamp, frustrated that I couldn't see her in the dark.

"Rose, honey, I don't know. I wish we knew. Or maybe it's better we don't know. I don't know," I sighed. "All I do know is we need to stay positive. We can't go letting our imaginations get the best of us. I'm sure we can imagine some pretty terrible things but that doesn't mean that's what's happening. She left a note saying she was ok. Let's believe Bells."

Rosalie pulled out of my arms and flopped back on her own pillow. She threw her arms above her head.

"I know her. If she wrote a note that said OK, then she's probably not but she wants Edward to think she is because, in typical Bella fashion, she's worried about how he's doing even though he's here safe and sound. She wants her mom to think she's ok so she doesn't go on a fucking bender. She wants me to think she's ok because she knows that this is all my fault-" Her voice broke again and the tears began to fall. She covered her face in her hands.

I rolled over and put my arm around her, surprised at her guilty feelings. "How is any of this your fault, baby?"

"What part of this whole thing isn't my fault?" she asked louder than I expected. "The only reason Aro Volturi even knew who Bella was was because of me. She went to him in an attempt to help me. She shot Mike, trying to save me. She took me in to protect me, even though all I did was bring the bad guys here to her. You heard Edward. They were there for us. They wanted to take us to the warehouse not Bella and Edward. You said he told the detectives Bella was willing to die for us. She told Edward not to tell them where we were no matter what they threatened to do to her. Do you know what they were going to do to her? Do you have any idea what she would be willing to go through for you and me?" She was crying harder and I pulled her back on top of me so I could comfort her.

"Bella's a cop. She was doing her job," I tried to reason.

Rosalie pushed away from me. "Is that what you tell yourself so you can sleep at night?" She was angry with me and I didn't understand why.

"Babe-"

"She wasn't on duty. She wasn't assigned by the CPD to find me back in Seattle or to deal with Aro here in Chicago. This wasn't her doing her job, Em. Just because she's a cop doesn't make it ok for us to ask her to risk her life, her happiness, for us!"

"I know that. I didn't mean -"

"I should never have come here. She was protecting us and now some Volturi thug has taken her and is doing God knows what to her, while I lay here with you with no threat hanging over our heads anymore! She did her job perfectly." Rosalie rolled over and hid her face in her pillow. Her body shook with her heavy sobs. She was breaking my damn heart.

"Babe, please. Don't do this to yourself. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I'm the one who made it my personal mission in life to tear apart the Volturi organization. I'm the one who begged Bella to help me find you when Newton took you. I'm the one who didn't call the Seattle police and let them handle it. I'm the one who begged Bella to convince you to leave Seattle back in October. I'm the one the one they wanted to kill, baby. All the punches my brother took were meant for me. All the suffering Bella is going through right now was really suppose to be mine. If anyone should be shouldering the blame here, it's me. What did you actively do? You were kidnapped for Christ sake! That's not your fault. That was Newton's fault. All the rest is on me, honey. All of it."

She rolled back over and hugged me fiercely, pushing me back on my side of the bed.

"I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her, Em," she cried into my shoulder, as I stroked her cornsilk hair.

Oh, my beautiful girl. She had been holding this all in for two days. What I said was true, though. This was my fault. She should be mad at me if something happens to Bella. Edward should be mad at me if something happens to Bella. I did this to my family.

"She's ok, Rose. She's going to come home. She'll be ok." I held my wife until her tears dried up and she fell into uneasy sleep. If Edward wasn't going to sleep, I guess I wouldn't either.

________________

We got the call around 10 AM Sunday morning that the stolen car from Omaha was found south of Salt Lake City. The car had been abandoned off the side of Interstate 15. The state police had been alerted from Utah to California and all the states in between. I was surprised that they were headed south. Maybe James was trying to get her to Mexico, but there was no way he was going to get across the border with her. Not without passports, not with having to go past armed border patrol. She would get some help for sure. Maybe he was headed to California. It didn't make sense. I thought for sure they would be going to familiar ground, somewhere he was comfortable. Portland seemed like the right place. Maybe I was just crazy.

The FBI was now involved because James had taken her across state lines. We had an agent come by who set up some equipment to trace calls in case Bella tried to call one of us. They got Edward a new phone, with the same number, figuring she would most likely call him if given the chance. Bella's former partner, Peter, came by and wanted to stay close so he could keep updated on the case. He hung out with all of us and made some calls so we could get some more information. Peter was a big help. He was able to get a lot of information that we didn't think to ask for.

The whole day was filled with a flurry of activity. Renee showed up before lunch and sat with Edward in silence. My mother put the television on so it would look like Edward was doing something instead of just sitting there, but the only time he paid attention to what was on was when the movie that was on had gunfire. Edward jumped at the sound and basically freaked the fuck out. We turned the TV off after that. He didn't ask any questions when we heard about the car. His lack of interest in what was going on, if I could call it that, was starting to bother the shit out of me. I wanted to light a fucking match under his ass. I wanted him to show some sign of life. I didn't want to see him experiencing post traumatic stress like when he heard the gunfire but I wanted him to dig into this with us.

Later that afternoon, we got word that Bella and James were spotted in a Gap in Salt Lake City yesterday. The girl who worked at the Gap didn't realize it was them at the time, but last night saw the report on the news and made the connection right away. Bella had stood out because she wore sunglasses and a John Deere baseball hat. She was wearing James' leather coat and looked "nervous and anxious" according to the Gap girl. James did all the talking and paid with cash. He said something to Bella about going to San Diego and that was the only time Bella spoke. The Gap girl reported Bella said she would never go to California, which the girl thought was weird. James then turned and didn't say anything but the Gap girl thought maybe intimidated Bella into shutting back up. Gap girl thought he was an abusive boyfriend or something since it looked like Bella had a cut on her lip and maybe was hiding another bruise on her head. The fact that that was the only time Bella spoke meant something. She did not want people to think they were going to California. That stuck with me. She didn't want us looking in California. Peter agreed with me. He didn't think Bella would dare speak unless she needed us to know something. They bought a lot of stuff. He was stocking up on shirts and jeans for both of them. He bought Bella a coat and some shoes. They bought underwear and socks. He got her some gloves and a winter hat. Not really stuff you'd need if you were headed to San Diego. All this told me he was keeping her. He wasn't going to kill her. At least, he didn't want to kill her. He wanted her to stay with him. They weren't going south. Not with jeans, jackets, hats, and gloves. But maybe that was meant to throw us off as well.

About an hour later, someone called to say Bella and James had been to a Target near the Gateway Mall where they were spotted at the Gap. The surveillance cameras at Target picked up Bella and James walking in and out of the store. He bought two shopping carts full of essentials. A lot of food and drinks, some cleaning products, a bunch of household items, toiletries, games, some CDs and DVDs - he bought a lot of stuff. Again, he paid in cash. Bella deliberately took off her hat as she exited the store behind James, looking into the camera above. She wanted them to see her clearly. She was wearing a different shirt and didn't have his leather jacket on anymore. Peter asked if we could see the video. They planned on releasing it to the public so people could see what James and Bella looked like, so they made plans to have it uploaded and sent to the agent's computer. Peter started asking questions about what was found in the cars and asked if we could see the note that Bella left. The FBI agent said he'd see what he could do.

Edward just sat there. Zombie man. It was killing me.

"They have her on video. Are you going to come over here and watch it?" I asked a little rougher than I intended.

He didn't move, didn't even acknowledge that I spoke to him.

"Edward. Edward." No response. "Edward! For God's sake, she's fucking trying everything to show you she's ok and you won't even look?" I lost it. I didn't know how to snap him out of this fucking trance.

"Emmett," my mother scolded me quietly with her tone.

I couldn't stop myself though. I pounded on the table in front of him, trying to get his attention, trying to get him to show me some sign that he was in there. I couldn't just leave him in the dark, I had to find some way to pull him out. "She's still alive, Edward! She's out there, trying very hard to stay alive for you. Can you fight just a little bit here? Can you not lose yourself in your fucking misery until you need to?"

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. Spark. Fire. _Alive._ He literally snarled and leapt off the couch to pounce on me, knocking me right on my ass. He was punching the shit out of me, unleashing the beast that had been dwelling inside for days.

Mom was yelling for us to stop. Dad was trying to pull him off of me with Peter's help. Renee was still just sitting there. They got him off me but he was still out of control.

"I fucking hate you, Emmett! I fucking hate you!" he screamed.

"Good, at least you fucking feel something!" I yelled back.

Edward was desperately trying to break free from Dad and Peter's grip. They were struggling to hold him back.

"You have no idea! You think you know, but you don't have a fucking clue!"

"I do know! I was in your shoes not so long ago. At least you have pictures of her, you can see she's ok."

"Ok? Do you know for sure she's ok? Huh? Is she in Salt Lake City right now? Huh?"

Probably not. I didn't answer him out loud, it was a rhetorical question. She was probably somewhere else by now. They were surely on the move again. He stopped resisting Dad and Peter's hold on him back but they didn't let him go.

"She isn't in fucking Salt Lake! We don't know where the hell she is, only where she's been! We don't know if she's ok, only that she was alive yesterday! We don't know how ok she is, you fucking asshole!" His rage was boiling over.

"I know he doesn't want to kill her! He didn't buy her all that stuff with plans to kill her."

"We all know what he wants to do with her! Maybe he won't kill her. Maybe he'll just violate her. Maybe she'll get away but she'll never be the same! He could kill her on the inside! We don't know!" He was breathing heavy. He shook his head and tears fell from his eyes. "You don't know what this is like. You didn't see someone almost choke the fucking life out of Rosalie. You didn't see her get taken away. You didn't have to sit around knowing she was driving across country with a man who wants nothing more than to make her his. His," he whimpered at the thought. "You didn't have to live through days of this. Nights. Nights where you didn't know what he was doing to her. You don't know. You don't have a fucking clue!" he screamed as he struggled to break free again and this time succeeded. He ran at me and slammed me against a wall. He shoved his forearm against my throat.

"Edward! Please stop!" Mom was freaking out. Peter and Dad were back trying to pull him off me.

"You did this! This is your fault! You and your fucking need to be fucking DA someday! Your need to get back at everyone and anyone connected to Newton!" He dropped his arm and let them pull him off me. "Well, you did it big brother. You got all the Volturi. Aro's dead. His brothers are in jail. They're all punished. You and Rosalie can go back to Seattle and live your fucking perfect life with your perfect daughter in your perfect house. Go back to your fucking perfect job. Congratulations. I'm glad you got everything you wanted. Really."

Nobody said anything as I coughed, my lungs having a hard time taking in the air they had been denied for a few seconds. Edward fell to the ground, on his knees. He bent over at the waist and covered his head with his arms as he sobbed loudly. Rosalie was hugging me and asking me if I was ok. Mom was crying while she held Lily in her arms protectively. Renee got off the couch and wrapped herself around Edward. Peter and the FBI agent stood awkwardly to the side. Dad was standing next to Edward breathing hard after the wrestling match with his youngest son. I watched my little brother bawl his eyes out. Finally awake. Finally ready to find Bella. He could be mad at me all he wanted at least he wasn't a fucking zombie anymore.

I kissed Rose's cheek and whispered I was fine. I knelt in front of my brother. Renee sat up and moved back to the couch. I put my hand on Edward's back and rubbed a couple circles. He sat up and I hugged him as he cried on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I wish that was enough. You have every right to be angry with me. Nobody blames me more than I do. We're going to find her, Edward. She's so fucking tough. She's not going to let him do anything to her. She won't. Him vs. her, she wins. Come on. When opportunity strikes, she's going to get away. She's waiting for the right moment. She's making sure no one else will get hurt. She's doing everything she should right now. She's leaving all the right clues behind. They're going to stop running and then we'll find them," I said as I held him.

"The video is downloaded. If you guys want to see her," the FBI agent said, breaking the enormous tension.

Edward pulled away and wiped his face with his arm. We gathered around the computer screen. The grainy video showed people walking into the Target. A man and woman walked in. The woman looked up at the camera. It was definitely Bella. James was holding her hand and pulling her along. We watched it two more times. No one said anything as the agent switched to the second video, this time they were walking out, each with their own cart. Bella stopped to tie her shoe. She took off her hat and looked directly at the camera. He let us watch it a couple times as well.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked before she walked out of the frame. The agent backed it up and we watched it again. "There," Peter pointed to her hand. The agent backed it up again. Bella was making a fist and then it looked like she was crossing her fingers.

"She's hoping he gets hit by a car on the way out?" Rosalie pondered, revealing her own dark thoughts, I was sure.

"No. She's doing it on purpose. She's giving us some sort of a sign," Peter replied.

"A sign? She's crossing her fingers. She's telling a lie? I don't get it," my mom said, frustrated.

"She's signing. R, E, maybe O. R, O. Over and over she's signing," Renee interjected.

"Sign language," the agent said, considering that possibility.

"R, O, R, O. Ro, or, oro, what kind of sign is that?" my dad complained.

"O, R." I thought about it all. "Can you get them to send us a picture of the note she left behind in the first car?" I asked.

"I think so," the agent opened his phone and hit some buttons. Peter looked at me and nodded. He was thinking the same thing I was.

A few minutes later, the powers that be sent an email with a picture of the square of toilet paper Bella left for us to find. It was written in her blood. I wasn't expecting that. I saw Edward blanche.

"That's not OK," I said aloud.

"You can say that again," Rose quipped.

I shook my head. "No, I mean, it's hard to make out, because it's written in," I paused, "in her blood, but I think she wrote OR not OK."

"She's telling us where they're going. They're headed to Oregon, not south to California," Peter explained. "They have to be heading to Portland or at least the Portland area."

We were all staring at the computer screen and didn't notice Edward until we heard the door to the room close behind him. I scrambled to the door and chased him down the hallway.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at me like I was an idiot. "I'm going to Portland. I've been waiting to find out where they were going and now I know. Now, I'm going to find her and kill him."

**A/N: There was no point doing an Edward POV for this chapter because the only thing he is thinking about is how miserable he is and all the ways he wants to kill James. So, I had to go with someone who was more aware of what was going on around him. Press review if you would like to share your thoughts! I love hearing what you guys think.**


	38. Chapter 38 Prayers

**A/N: I don't own Twilight but I do own the New Moon DVD! Sorry this took so long. I spoil everyone with my fast posts. This one is super long though, so hopefully worth the wait. Let me know what you think =)**

Chapter 38  
EPOV

_I feel numb,  
I can't come to life,  
I feel like I'm frozen in time  
Living in a world so cold, wasting away  
Living in a shell with no soul, since you've gone away  
Living in a world so cold, counting the days  
Since you've gone away,  
you've gone away, from me  
I'm too young to lose my soul  
I'm too young to feel this old  
for so long I'm left behind  
I feel like I'm losing my mind_  
World So Cold - Three Days Grace

No more. I could not stay frozen in my despair one second longer. Not any more. I was up and moving with purpose. I knew where I was going and what I was going to do. My face was still wet from the tears I let spill in my awakening. I had felt trapped since she left, hopeless and helpless. Finding her seemed an unattainable dream. Knowing Bella's final destination made finding her a reality. It was James' turn to be the prey, my turn to be the hunter. I needed a gun. No point in getting one until I was in Portland. My first priority was getting to Portland, then I would get a gun.

"What are you doing?" my brother said, breaking my train of thought as I stormed towards the hotel elevators.

I looked at him like he was a fucking idiot. "I'm going to Portland. I've been waiting to find out where they were going and now I know. Now, I'm going to find her and kill him."

"No, no, no, no. You are not going anywhere," he argued, stepping in front of me. He placed his hand on my chest. I glared down at it, contemplating if I should break his wrist or simply push him out of the way.

"Is Bella in Oregon?" I asked, still trying to decide how to handle his hand, hoping he would just get out of my way.

"You can't just run out there hoping you'll bump into them somewhere."

"Is Bella in Oregon?"

"Edward,"

"Is Bella in Oregon?" I asked for the last time, looking him right in the eye.

"Probably, but we have no idea where they're going exac-"

"I'm going and you can't really stop me."

I opted for pushing him out of my way instead of breaking his bones. He latched on to my arm and I struggled to loosen his grip.

"I can stop you and I will. The FBI is not going to let you run around Portland like a mad man. If you do that, they'll stop telling you what they know. We need them to tell us what they know. You have to let them do the investigating," he pleaded.

My tunnel vision began to expand a little. He was right. I needed some more information. I reluctantly went back into the suite with Emmett. Peter was talking and it took me a minute to realize they were on speaker phone with someone.

"Well, who have you questioned in Portland beside the mother?"

I voice came from the phone sitting on the desk in front of them, "We've spoken with a few of the detectives at the station he was at last. Duncan didn't have a lot of friends. Seems like he was closest to this Alec Goode, who's been identified as one of the men at the warehouse in Chicago. We're tying to get to some of the other guys from Vice he used to work with. Other than that we don't have many leads."

"Liam. Liam Cummins," Emmett shouted out. "They were friends, since they were kids. I don't know when the last time they spoke was, but he might be able to give you some insight as to where James would go if he was going to hide in that area."

"Cummins?" the voice asked.

"Cummins, Liam Cummins. He's in Portland or nearby. I told this to the first detectives but that was before the other district got involved and now you guys. I don't know who knows what anymore," Emmett answered. His frustration was obvious.

"We'll check it out. Anything else you guys can think of, give me a call."

"Will do, thanks, Bill," the FBI agent in the room with us said before hanging up.

"They're going to find her. She's doing a good job. She's dropping her breadcrumbs," Peter said, looking at Emmett. Emmett nodded.

"Well, now what? I can't sit here. I can't just sit here and wait for Mr. Bill, Agent Bill, whatever, to call back and tell me what's happening out there. I need to go to Portland. I need to," I declared to everyone. All eyes were on me. My mom looked so on edge. Renee bit her lip, just like Bella does. I couldn't look at her for very long. I settled on staring down Emmett.

It was Peter who protested, though. "There's nothing you can do in Portland, Edward. It's better you stay here, take care of the things that need to be taken care of here. You should be able to get back into your place soon. You'll need to get things back in order for her, for when she comes home."

I shook my head and my father sighed loudly, not caring to hide his displeasure with my stubbornness.

"I can't do anything to find her here or there, but at least I'll be close to her. When they find her, I'll be there ready and waiting."

"Edward," my brother huffed, ready to jump into his reasons why I shouldn't go.

"You're not going anywhere," my dad sighed, like he thought I ever listened to what he said.

"Please stay, I don't think I can handle-" my mom began to beg.

"Hold on a second," I said raising a finger. I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket. I flipped it opened and looked at my driver's license. "Yep, twenty-eight, that's what I thought." Everyone looked confused. "I'm a goddamn adult! I'm not asking anyone's permission here. I don't need you to agree with me or to get your blessing. I'm going to Portland."

"Then I'm going with you," Emmett said all matter of fact.

"You're also an adult, I can't stop you."

"Then I'm going, too," Dad announced.

I shrugged. I really didn't care who was going to go. I was going and they could all come along for all I cared.

"Great. Anybody else?"

"Carlisle, I don't think-" Mom tried to argue.

"I'm going with the boys. Someone has to make sure they don't kill each other along the way. We'll meet up with the FBI agents in charge out there and set up at a hotel no different than we're doing here. It'll be fine, Esme."

"What am I supposed to do? Just stay here? Go home? Go with you?" Mom was so stressed and I felt guilty even though I wasn't going to change my mind about what I was doing.

"Why don't we head back to Seattle," Rosalie suggested. "We're supposedly safe now. No reason I can't go home. Esme, you are more than welcome to come with me and Lily. We'll only be a little more than a couple hours away by car and an hour, if that, by plane."

"That sounds good. You should do that, sweetheart," my dad encouraged.

"One of my father's jets is here in Chicago, waiting for me to tell it where to go," Rose said, pulling out her phone.

Must be nice to be so fucking rich. Sometimes it's nice to be related to someone that rich. Rosalie has her uses. She started making arrangements right away. Renee looked anxious and worried. I pulled her aside while everyone started moving in their different directions.

"You ok?" I asked, knowing she wasn't. Renee and I were far from ok. If anyone got how I was feeling, it was Renee.

"So, I should stay here, right? Stay and wait for you to find her?" She bit her lip again.

"Whatever you want to do. You can come, you can stay. What do you want to do?"

"There's nothing for me to do. I should probably just stay. Phil's here. He would want me to stay."

"You can go with Rosalie. I'm sure it would be fine. If you wanted to be closer." I sensed she was feeling out of place and that wasn't right. Bella was her daughter. Renee had more right than any of us to be a part of this.

"No, I don't want to impose. I should stay." She hugged me tightly.

"Good call on the sign language. You did good, Renee."

She pulled back and gave me a small smile. "I taught her the alphabet when she was in high school. Her dad was a little overprotective, you know. He wanted there to be a no boys allowed rule until she was seventeen."

"Excellent rule," I interjected.

"I thought it was a little much. So, she would tell Charlie one thing then sign to me in another room, because I swear my husband could hear a pin drop from a mile away. She'd quickly spell out things like _Kevin picking up_ or _not a group date _or _boys at Rose's. _I was a total enabler, wasn't I?"

"Who the hell is Kevin and why were boys allowed at Rose's? Was Kevin at Rose's?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Renee smiled much bigger this time. "I'm surprised she still remembered. We haven't used signs in a long time."

"She knew you'd be helping to find her. She knew you'd see. She's smart like that."

Renee pressed her forehead against my chest, looking down at her feet. She stayed like that for a minute.

"Can you follow me home? I should go home and go to a meeting but I know I'm going to drive past a liquor store and I don't think I have it in me to not stop. I'm definitely thinking about stopping. I can't stop thinking about stopping. I need a meeting, _bad_. I need to be going to meetings everyday, I think."

Her confession broke my heart. Leaving her behind to go find Bella was what I was going to do, but I felt horrible doing it. I knew that Renee was breaking, just like me. We had promised to help each other and now I was leaving.

"I will do whatever you need. You know that. I'll drive you to a meeting if you want me to."

"Just get me home and I'll get to the meeting. I promise," she said looking up at me, her eyes wet. I wrapped my arms around her again and gave her a big squeeze, there were no words that were going to make this any easier for her.

I followed her home and went inside with her for a little bit. She checked where she could find a meeting and called her sponsor. I texted Phil, who was working on a Sunday. This was the busiest time of his off-season. The draft for the Minors was in a week and things were crazy. This made me feel even more guilty for leaving Renee behind. He texted back his thanks and promised to keep a close eye on her. I kissed her cheek and headed off. I decided to wait down the block, watching her get in her car an hour later. I shamefully followed her to make sure she made it to the church across town for her meeting, which she did. I said a little prayer for her in the church parking lot after she went in, hoping my proximity to the Big Guy's house would help the prayer be answered. That made me think I better throw a prayer in there for Bella as well.

_Please let me find her. Please let her be ok. Please keep his damn hands off her. Forgive me for what I do when I get my hands on him._

With that I left and stopped at a gas station to get a couple packs of cigarettes and a pack of gum. I never should have started this fucking habit back up but it was the only thing that I could think to calm me. I needed something and after following Renee to AA it didn't seem right to stop and buy a bottle of Jack. I smoked two in the parking lot before heading back to the hotel, where I smoked two more outside. Then I chewed a couple sticks of gum so my mom wouldn't notice. It was unlikely but worth a shot.

Peter had been right. The police allowed me to go back to the condo late Sunday evening. I went over there with Emmett. I never made it upstairs that night they came for us. James had knocked me out on the way up. I didn't even know what went on up there. I remembered the sound of a gun, thinking it was Bella, but Bella was not the one who got shot. From what I learned from the police, Bella had shot one of the intruders but was overpowered by the others. I hated the fact that I sent her up there by herself. The place looked relatively the way I remembered leaving it, except for the disgusting blood stain that was on display in front of the kitchen. Someone died in here. Two people died downstairs.

_We were never going to sell this place. Not for a very long time. _

I wasn't sure I was ever going to be able to live here again. If Bella didn't come home with me from Portland, I would definitely never be able to live here. I went back to the bedroom and started packing some clothes. I opened the closet door and stood a moment gently running my hands over the clothes on the right side, Bella's clothes. I grabbed the sleeve of one of her shirts and brought it up to my nose. I wanted it to smell like her, but it didn't do her justice. I turned to the bed and saw she hadn't made it before she left Thanksgiving morning. That was so unlike her. Only her side was messed up, though. I had stayed at Renee's that night. I had purposely left her alone. My pillow was laying longways on the bed, like she had used it as a body pillow. My heart clenched and I fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. I would give anything to go back to that night and take back all the angry words and hurt I made her feel. I would have listened to what she had to say and we would have gone to bed - together. I would give anything to be in bed with her again.

I crawled onto the bed and scooped up her pillow in my arms. I laid on my stomach and pressed my face into it. Her pillow smelled just like her. The sweet smell of her shampoo, the slightest trace of her perfume. God, would I ever have the real thing again? I lost my fight with the tears and they began to leave their mark, dampening the fabric under my face.

I felt the bed sag under Emmett's weight before I heard him come in.

"Come on, let's go back to the hotel."

I turned my head so I could see him. I think I was aging him. The lines by his eyes seemed deeper than I remembered. He put his hand on my back.

"I don't hate you, you know that, right?" I had blamed him and tried to beat him senseless earlier today, but he wasn't really the one I was mad at. I was mad at myself and I blamed no one but James Duncan for taking Bella.

"I know," he nodded.

"Good, because I was a little out of it and mixed up before. I don't want you to think that I think you did something wrong because you didn't. You always do the right thing, man. That's who you are. You should never feel bad about trying to make the world a better place. It's what you were born to do; it's the gift you got from Mom."

It was Emmett's turn to be overcome with emotion. His eyes welled up and he quickly pressed his fingers into his eyes, trying and failing to stop the tears.

"I'm sorry we weren't with you. I'm sorry they didn't take me instead. I mean that. I'm sorry I brought all this down on you."

"If my wife wasn't so fucking awesome and her dick partner wasn't in love with her, we probably never would have gotten out of there alive. You would have been killed, Em. If you and Rosalie had been taken instead - you would both be dead. That would not have been better."

He nodded, unable to speak.

"Just promise me you're going to help me find her, no matter what. Promise me you won't stop me from going to any lengths to get her back."

"Edward, I can't risk losing you and her. She'd never forgive me."

"You don't have to help me, you just have to let me do what I need to do."

He shook his head. "I don't know, I can't promise you that I won't try to keep you from doing something that can end you."

I rolled on my back and groaned, "Ok, what I said before about not feeling bad about doing the right thing, scratch that."

"How about I start by not mentioning that you should stop smoking?"

I actually snickered. It wasn't a full out laugh. Laughing was something I wouldn't do until I held Bella in my arms again but he made me smile.

"I'm going to quit. I swear. When we find Bella, I'll quit. So, it's in my best interest for you to let me do whatever it takes. Otherwise, I'm going to die of lung cancer. That would absolutely be all your fault."

Now, Emmett laughed. Not his usual boisterous laugh, but still a good guffaw.

"Let's go. I need to do some research on an iron lung."

"That doesn't help people with lung cancer, you dumb ass," I said smacking him with the pillow in my hands. He got up off the bed with a big grin on his face. I took one more deep inhale of Bella's sweet scent before we left.

___________________

"_What sense is most closely linked to memory?" she asked with a big old smirk on her face._

"_I change my mind, I want to go this way to orange," I said, picking up my pieless Trivial Pursuit circle thingy and moving it in the opposite direction._

"_You can't change your mind after I read the question. That's not fair. You picked this color and you have to stick with it. Too bad." She giggled while grabbing my hand to stop my move. That sound was the cutest damn thing ever._

"_I can, too. You get one mulligan."_

"_There are no mulligans in Trivial Pursuit. Only golf. See, you would fair no better in the orange category. Just guess, you big baby."_

"_What did you call me?" I asked in mock horror. _

_We were both lying on our stomachs on the floor of her apartment. I got on all fours and crawled right over the board towards her. Bella tried to get away but I grabbed her and began relentlessly tickling. She would soon be crying for mercy._

"_Stop! Stop!" she gasped between fits of laughter. _

_I pinned her underneath me and held her arms over her head. She was stronger than she looked and totally could have got away from me, but she was playing along perfectly. I nuzzled her neck with my nose and inhaled her sweet smell. She was delicious smelling. I nipped at her neck and then ran my tongue under her ear. She tasted good, too. Her smell, though, was intoxicating. I kissed her lips and the dragged my tongue across her pink bottom lip. She moaned quietly._

"_I love the way you taste but I'm sure I could never forget the way you smell." I ran the tip of my nose down and around her neck again. _

"_You would have gotten it right. The answer was smell. Why do you doubt yourself so much?" _

"_This is more fun than Trivial Pursuit, isn't it?" I asked as I kissed along her collarbone and pressed my reacting body onto hers._

_She let out a little moan again and wrapped her legs around my waist, driving me closer to her center. Fuck, what that was doing to me!_

_I had a plan and she was messing it up. I was going to save this part for after I proposed but she was making me want to take her here on her living room floor. I let go of her hands and pushed up on my arms, I couldn't roll off because she had me clamped in tight with her legs._

"_What do you say we go to the Art Museum? Then grab some dinner?"_

"_Instead of doing this?" she replied not so coyly, unbuttoning my shirt._

_Death of me. This woman was the best damn thing to ever happen to me. Who gives a fuck if we do things a little out of order? I don't think she'll complain. I pushed down on her again and kissed her beautiful mouth. We could definitely do this now and after she said yes to marrying me. _

"_I love you," she hummed as I lifted off her to take off my shirt._

"_I love you more."_

"_Impossible."_

I woke with a start and rubbed my eyes, shifting uncomfortably in the huge ass leather seat I was sitting in. I looked out the small plane window and saw nothing but white clouds underneath us. Maybe we were getting close. We were heading to the cloudy northwest. I don't know how Bella grew up there, it seemed so depressing. Growing up in LA was such a drastic opposite. I checked my watch, we took off three and a half hours ago. I had slept for a little over an hour; I didn't realized I was so tired. Last night, I slept more than I had in the last couple days but I still had a couple nightmares. This dream was a million times better than a nightmare but it made my heart ache just as much. It was more like a memory than a dream. Smell must be connected to memory because ever since I cried into her pillow and smelled her scent, I have been remembering moments just like my dream. The day I proposed to her was one of the best days of my life. She agreed to spend her life with me. She picked me as the man she wanted to grow old with, even though I cheated at Trivial Pursuit. James Duncan was not going to take that away from me. He was not going to make her go back on her promise.

"Are you ok, sweetheart?" my mom asked kindly from the seat facing me. She had been there to witness me violently wake from my first nightmare and since then seemed overly concerned about me and sleep.

"I'm fine, Mother," I croaked before clearing my throat. "You don't have a baby in your arms? What's up with that?" I wanted to quickly veer the conversation away from me and my dream.

"Rosalie is feeding her," she replied, tilting her head to look around me. I turned to see Rosalie sitting on a long banquette, feeding Lily. Dad and Emmett were sitting across from one another in a set of seats around a small table. Dad was reading and Emmett, with earphones in, was watching something on his iPhone.

I smiled back at my mom, trying to reassure her so she didn't worry about me so much.

"You looked content while you were sleeping. I was hoping you would get a longer nap."

"I'm not a baby. I don't need a nap. I'm fine," I protested, scrubbing the whiskers on my chin with the backside of my hand.

I saw my dad look up from his book and eye me warningly. _Be nice to your mother. _That was the clear message.

"I'm not arguing that you're a grown up, sweetheart. I only worry about you because I love you and I know you haven't been sleeping. You need sleep and you need to eat. I love you, I want you to be healthy."

"I know. I know you love me. Please don't worry about me, Mother. Worry gives you wrinkles," I winked.

"Ha, if that were true, I would be very wrinkly by now. In fact, I would probably be just one big wrinkle," she snorted.

I couldn't help smiling at my mother's giggle. But immediately it reminded me of Bella's and I was hit with that sharp pain in my chest. My breaking heart was such a pain. Mom saw my expression change.

"I'll stop worrying about you when I am six feet under. Wait, I'll probably still worry about you then, too. Sorry. I couldn't do it anymore than you can stop what you feel right now, my darling." She leaned forward, reaching out her hand to pat me on the knee. I placed my hand on hers.

If I could only stop what I was feeling. The pain just doesn't stop. The ache, the constant ache was miserable. I looked back out the window. Where was she? What was she doing, right now? Did she know I was going to find her? Did she know how much I missed her? I had to be careful with these questions in my head. If I let my mind go down the very dark path, I could get lost again. I had to be careful not to think about what _he_ was doing to her. My leg was bouncing and I was chewing on my fingernails, dangerously biting them to the quick. I needed a cigarette. I couldn't smoke on the damn plane and certainly not in front of my mother. I would have to wait until we got to Portland. I could really care less what Dad would have to say about it. Nothing good, I was sure.

"Do you want to borrow my iPod? Something to help you calm the hell down?" Rosalie said over my shoulder as she came back to sit in her seat across the aisle from me. She handed Lily over to my mother and grabbed her purse off the seat in front of her.

"I can't listen to music," I replied. Nothing good could come from listening to a song that would make me think about Bella. If something came on that got me going, I wouldn't be able to stop.

"You can watch a movie or play some games. Something. Your leg is going to fall off if it keeps up that bouncing. Take it, Edward."

She held out her iPod and I took it figuring I could find something mind numbing to do on there. Obviously, I was annoying her, not that I cared, but a distraction wasn't a bad idea.

"You got to be kidding me!" Emmett exclaimed. He was typing something on his iPhone and had an exasperated look on his face

My stomach tied in a knot at what could have ruffled his feathers.

"Liam Cummins was no help. In fact, he told them it seemed more likely that James would go to California. He lived near Fresno for a couple years after high school. Cummins thought if he was going to go anywhere to get lost it would be there. The FBI think that because he dumped the car south of Salt Lake City, Cummins might be right."

"No way. If Bella told us Oregon, he's taking her to Oregon," I reasoned.

"Maybe Bella thought that was where they were headed but he changed it up on her," Rosalie suggested.

I shook my head. "Bella said she would never go to California. She wouldn't have said that unless she was sure. He's trying to get us to go there and waste our time."

"I think Edward's right," Emmett agreed.

"This is why we should have stayed in Chicago. We're running around when we have no idea where she is. Maybe we should wait for the next stolen car to turn up," dad offered.

"He's close enough to both Portland and Fresno that he doesn't need to steal another car. My guess is he'll hide this one where no one will find it. We aren't going to find another car," Emmett argued.

My mother jumped in, "Maybe we should all head to LA. You guys can stay at our house. No hotels, no unnecessary expenses."

"I am getting off this plane in Oregon, where Bella told me to go. I am not going to LA and I am not going to Fresno. Fuck Liam Cummins. Bella wants me in Oregon."

"Edward, what are you going to do, go house to house trying to find her?" Dad challenged.

I didn't have a clue what I was going to do. I had no fucking plan. I just knew I needed to be in Oregon. She was leading us there. I wasn't going to go anywhere else.

"We'll check things out in Portland. We can always go to LA later. Dad, you and mom can go home, if you want. You don't have to stay with us," Emmett said. At least he was on my side.

"I'm staying with you boys. I think it's best. The more level-headed thinkers, the better."

Oh, give me a break. I think my eyes almost rolled out of their fucking sockets. He thought he needed to come with us to babysit me. So fucking frustrating.

"Portland it is," Emmett said, typing something else into his phone and sharing a look with Rosalie that didn't go unnoticed by me.

We landed in Portland and I smoked two cigarettes, like they were the last two on the entire planet, while Emmett and Dad got us a rental car. Saying goodbye to my mother was so anxiety provoking. She was crying and begging me to not do anything that could get me hurt or arrested. Lord, none of them were making this easy on me. I wasn't going to feel guilty for anything that I did to get Bella back.

"When did you decide to take that dirty habit back up?" my dad asked as he joined me to wait for Emmett to pull the car up.

I pulled at my hair as I took a drag from my third cigarette. "When your wife gets kidnapped by a psychopath who thinks he's going to have a life with her, you can start up any habit you like and I promise not to say shit to you. Do you think you can extend me the same courtesy?"

Dad rolled his eyes. "You aren't smoking in the car. Or the hotel. Or around me if you can help it. Bella hates cigarettes. You should remember that."

"How the hell do you know she hates cigarettes? When the hell would that have ever come up?"

"I talk to my daughter-in-law about a lot of things. She once thought about becoming an EMT instead of a police officer, did you know that?" he asked all smug and shit.

I gave my hair another pull and flicked the ash off my cigarette. "What? Where was I when you had these conversations? Bella has only wanted to be a cop. She was like born to be a cop. You're making this shit up."

"She thought about it briefly when she was in high school, but went to college for criminal justice in the end. Renee was a little worried about having two police officers in the family, so she considered it since it was a way to do public service on a different level."

What the hell? I did not know that. She never told me that. Why the hell did he know that?

He seemed to read my thoughts, "Bella and I chatted quite a bit when your mother and I were in town last. She asked me about why I went into cosmetics over other specialties in medicine. She showed such interest in the medical field and then it came up. Your wife is very easy to talk to when she wants to be."

I took another long drag and then rubbed my cigarette out with my foot. I needed to find Bella more than ever. She was not going to leave me when obviously I didn't know everything I needed to know about her.

We gave them the week. It is unbelievable how slow time can go when you have nothing to do but sit around waiting for a phone call. The FBI, state, and local police had nothing. Bella and James' pictures were splashed all over the place and on every news channel but no one saw them. It was like they dropped off the planet. They weren't seen near Fresno and they weren't seen near Portland. They were fucking nowhere. Renee was barely hanging on. We made arrangements to get her some interviews so she could feel more useful. Emmett thought it was best to keep me out of the media. If James and Bella saw the news, seeing me would worry Bella because I looked like shit and possibly enrage James because I wasn't giving up. We had Renee talk to the Today Show, Good Morning America, and that Nancy Grace chick on CNN. The more we saturated the news with pictures and reports, the more we felt like someone had to recognize them sooner than later. By Friday, I was ready to crawl out of my skin. With no solid leads since Salt Lake City, it was becoming harder and harder to hold it together. I was smoking two packs a day. I was a fucking nervous wreck. I wasn't sleeping. I was eating a little here and there when Emmett and Dad would drag my ass out of the hotel and force me to put something in my mouth. Dad's facetious remark about going door to door looking for her was becoming a viable option for me. I needed to do something or I was going to go insane. Bella had been gone one week. Seven fucking days. It was literally killing me.

Saturday was it. I wasn't going to be able to function in the hotel one more day. I was going to have to plant myself at the FBI offices and force them to look harder. Emmett had another idea.

"I think we should go talk to Liam."

"What's that going to do?" I asked as I laid on the bed staring at the weird pattern on the ceiling that I pretty much had memorized.

"Talking to the police can be intimidating. If he and James were friends, he might not want to get his friend in trouble. So, he might have downplayed things. If we go talk to him and make him look us in the eye when he says he doesn't know where James could be, he might break."

It was a good theory and I was up for anything. Emmett made me take a shower before we left, saying I needed to make a good impression. I couldn't show up at the guy's door looking like a damn vagabond. Emmett had met Liam at Riley's funeral. He thought the entire Cummins family was good people. They had treated him with such kindness, especially when he had felt so guilty for Riley's murder.

We drove to Liam's, which was in a small suburb of Portland called Sunnyside. Emmett pulled up to a well-kept up bungalow style house, kind of like Renee's back home. There was a nice front porch, complete with porch swing. There was a children's playset in the backyard that you could see from the street. The outside was all decorated for Christmas with lights on the house and surrounding trees. They even had some big nativity scene on the front lawn. A wooden snowman sat by the front door holding a sign that said, "Flakes Welcome". So normal. James Duncan was friends with a guy who lived in this normal house. It seemed unimaginable.

"Try not to act like a crazy person," my dad whispered after I pulled my hand through my hair for the ten millionth time in twenty minutes.

"Got it, Dad. Thanks."

Emmett rang the doorbell and I held my breath.

A pretty brown-haired woman opened the door wearing sling containing a very small baby.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a warm and inviting smile and Irish accent. "I know you!" she exclaimed looking at Emmett. "Mr. Cullen, correct?"

"Yes, Emmett, please. Maggie, right?"

"Right. Well, don't all three of you look vexed! Come on in. I'm sitting here pulling me plum. Liam took the twins to get their hair cut and I just have this babby here." She opened the door wide and we all walked into the cozy little front room. "Sit, please. Can I get you all some tea?"

"We're fine. Really. We're don't want to impose. This is my father, Carlisle Cullen and my brother, Edward. We were just hoping to talk to Liam for a couple minutes," Emmett said politely.

"Well, nice to meet you," she nodded towards me and my dad. "Liam should be back soon. Sit. Let me heat up some water and we'll wet the tea. You need something warm, it's cold out there today!" she said, heading towards the kitchen.

She was so nice. I guess I don't know what I was expecting. Someone married to a guy that was friends with a maniac like James shouldn't be this nice.

"I am so sorry for the trouble that's found you lately. Liam has been beside himself since we heard the news. James was the best man at our wedding a few years back. They've been friends since they were lads. Trouble that one, I tell ya. Always has been, but we never imagined he'd do something like this."

She handed us all a teacup and I held it in my shaky hands.

"Maggie, if there is anything you guys have talked about in the last week that you think could help us find him and my sister-in-law, we would be so grateful. There's been no new leads these last few days and anything you can think of would be so great," Emmett cut to the chase.

"Oh, I wish I could say I know something. I do. She's a beautiful woman. I've been watching every report on every station on the TV. I hope you find her, I do. It makes me sick to think James could be so horrible."

"Mags! Who's car is outside the hou-" Liam Cummins walked into his house and stopped talking as soon as he saw the three of us. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked on the major defensive.

I sat up a little straighter, now this was what I was ready for. I was ready for a fight. I wanted a fight.

"Liam! This is Emmett Cullen and-"

"I know who they are. What are they doing here?"

"We came to talk to you. That's all. You are the only person we could think of that might be able to help my sister-in-law." Emmett was the perfect mediator. It was good I wasn't here by myself.

"I already told the FBI everything I know. I can't help you, I'm sorry. Please, don't bring me into this."

"We know you talked to the FBI, but maybe since you talked to them you've thought about it some more and you've thought about where he might be around here. Please Liam. Bella's life is at stake here."

Liam's closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "James would never hurt her. I can't even imagine it, especially if he cares for her. There has to be a misunderstanding. I have to believe there is more to this. Maybe she wants to be with him."

I shot right out of my seat dropping my teacup and shattering it on their wood floor.

"Are you fucking kidding me? She can't stand the guy! He was sent to Chicago to kill her by the same assholes that blew up your fucking brother! He's a cold-blooded, murdering son of a bitch!"

"Edward." My dad's hands were on me, restraining me. Two doe-eyed little toddlers were staring up at me like I was some kind of monster. They had come in from another part of the house. Maggie grabbed them up and shuffled them away. I froze in my spot, my heart still beating rapidly.

"Get out of my house!" Liam bellowed.

"Please, Liam. Forgive my brother for being so angry," Emmett stood up and put himself between me and Liam. "You have to understand what he's going through. His wife was taken. He was there. He heard James threaten to shoot her if Edward didn't let him leave with her. Bella loves my brother. They've only been married a few months and they are very happy. James took her. She is being held against her will. Please. Please help us. Imagine if someone took away Maggie, took her away from you and your family. Wouldn't you do whatever you could to find her? Wouldn't you beg anyone and everyone that might know something?" Emmett pleaded with him.

Liam's hand shot up to his head and he began pacing back and forth. It took him a good two minutes before he spoke.

"James is my best friend. I've known him since we were eight years old. He's got his issues. He hasn't exactly had the easiest life."

I didn't want to hear this. I could really give a shit about James' tough life.

Emmett spoke so calmly, "We just want to find Bella. We aren't here to be judge and jury. We just want Bella."

_No, I want to be judge and jury and executioner. _ It was best to let Emmett do the talking, with thoughts like that.

"I don't know how I can help you. I haven't spoken to James for a month or so. He didn't come home for Riley's funeral and I was kind of pissed at him about that. Then the baby came last week, right before all of this. I don't know what to tell you."

"Anything, somewhere he liked to go. Maybe he used to talk about enjoying a certain area around here. Maybe he knows people who would help him hide. Hell, maybe he had a favorite campsite. Something."

At the last thing Emmett said, I saw Liam's stop pacing for just a second, but it was enough for me to notice.

"Did he camp around here? Was he an outdoorsy person?" I asked, praying he would share.

Liam's shot a look my way, then he immediately looked down at his feet. Busted. He knew something.

"Please," I begged. "Anything you know could help. He could be hurting her. Hurting her in ways that keep me up all night and make me want to jump out my 15th floor hotel room window. Please. She means everything to me. I love her so much that if she wanted to be with him, I would let her go, but she doesn't. Believe me when I say, she doesn't."

"I don't know how I can help you," he groaned. "Please, leave my family out of this."

Maggie was standing by the doorway. She was looking at Liam with a frown. "This isn't their fault, Liam. You have no right being frustrated with them."

"Go be with the children, Mags. Go," he huffed, waving his hand at her to go.

"It was nice to see you again, Emmett. Mr. Cullen, Edward," she nodded at me and my dad. "I will keep praying for her safe return. Hopefully, James will come to his senses and do the right thing." She stepped back out of the room.

"Please, go," Liam said quietly to us.

Emmett nodded and pulled a card from his pocket. "If you think of something, please call me at the number on the bottom here. That's my cell. Anything, even if it seems stupid."

Liam took the card and after staring at it for a second, shoved it into his pocket. We filed out and I felt sick. How could he not want to help us? Emmett unlocked the car and we piled in. I sat in the back and wanted to do nothing but bang my head against the window.

"Well, that went worse than I expected," Dad said putting on his seatbelt.

"I could have started beating the shit out of him in front of his two little kids, that would have been worse," I chimed in.

"You need to get yourself under control, Edward. You aren't going to make people want to help you when you scream at them."

"Well, Emmett didn't get much further with his nice and polite act, did he? I couldn't just sit there and listen to him say she wants to be with James. That makes me want to throw up." I started pulling at my hair like I was going to yank it all out. "Pull over a second." Emmett looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Pull the fuck over, please!"

We had driven about four or five houses away and I realized I needed a cigarette and I really didn't want to listen to my father bitch about it in the car. Emmett stopped the car and I jumped out. Both dad and Emmett almost leapt out of their seats, afraid I was going to run back to the Cummins house and kill someone, I guess. When I waved the pack of cigarettes at them, they both relaxed. Dad shook his head and Emmett looked annoyed but not enough to stop me.

I lit a cigarette as I leaned against the side of the car. I took a long drag and blew the smoke straight up at the clouds overhead. Was God up there or not? Was he going to help me find her or not? Eight days, going on nine. Eight days she's been gone. I hadn't gone eight days without seeing her or hearing her or touching her since that day I snapped a picture of her in the lobby of Hale Tower a few days before Emmett and Rosalie were supposed to get married. I certainly didn't think I would survive eight more. I looked down the street. This was such an ordinary neighborhood. There were regular people living in these houses, going about their ordinary lives. Making lunch for their kids, cleaning their bedrooms, paying bills at their kitchen table, watching some TV. Why did I have to be living the extraordinary life? Extraordinary, not in the good way. Not normal. Not simple. My life could never be normal again if Bella wasn't in it.

I took a couple more drags and then tossed the smoldering butt in the grass of the parkway. I looked down the street one more time. This time, I saw a pickup truck backing out of the driveway by the Cummins house. Maggie ran out and the truck stopped. She went over to the driver's side and they had some sort of verbal exchange. The truck pulled out and drove off in the opposite direction we were headed. Maggie looked upset. She looked down the street and saw me standing there. I felt bad intruding on their little spat. As soon as she recognized me, she started waving her arms and then pointed the direction Liam had gone.

"Follow him, but don't let him see you!" she screamed. "Hurry! Go!"

I stood up and stared for a second.

"Go!" she screamed again.

She didn't have to tell me again. I yanked the back door open and shouted at Emmett to turn the car around. We were going to follow Liam Cummins because he was going somewhere he thought Bella was with James. I just knew it. God hadn't abandoned me, yet.


	39. Chapter 39 Testing Patience

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.**

_No  
You don't belong to me  
I think you lied to me  
With my back against this wall  
It's hard to be strong  
No  
You'd tell me anything  
Look what you've done to me  
Still I tell myself  
That tomorrow you'll be long gone  
_You Don't Belong to Me - Daughtry

BPOV

Stockholm Syndrome. In college we learned about it in one of my criminology classes. Stockholm syndrome is a mental paradox that some people held against their will experience when they are threatened with possible death or extreme harm but at the same time are shown acts of kindness by their captors. These victims tend to sympathize with and actually begin to care for their captors. When kept in captivity, these people can develop a strong bond with their captors, in some cases even a sexual interest. It's sort of like the victim becomes so grateful for being allowed to live that they can't help but develop an emotional attachment to the person who cares for them and "gives them life". This is what James was hoping was going to happen to me.

He was a fucking idiot.

I was confident that he could keep me in this old cabin for the next forty years and I would still dream about Edward every night and never feel anything even close to emotional attachment to James. Patty Hearst, I was not. We had driven from Wyoming to Salt Lake City, where he bought all the things he thought would hold us over for a few months. Then, after he tried to make it look like we were going to head south, we headed up to Oregon. James' grandparents had a cabin nestled in the woods near Tillamook. There was literally nothing but trees for miles every direction. We were completely isolated. He explained that when his grandparents died, his mother inherited the place. She never used it, but he would come here in the summer sometimes. There were hiking trails, off-highway vehicle trails, plenty of game to hunt, and rivers for fishing. He told me that there were world-class salmon streams in the area. His mother paid the bills on the place so it had running water, electricity, and heat. No phone or cable but he wanted me to know that there was TV up there and we could watch DVDs. He was trying so hard to sell me on the place, like if he made it more interesting I was going to suddenly be really happy about being here. I was never going to be happy here. Ever.

I refused to talk to him most of the time. I spent most of my time pretending to sleep and thinking about the different ways I could kill him so I could escape. He had let me walk around in Salt Lake City, shop for clothes and supplies but I knew that if I did anything he would kill some innocent bystander. I did nothing, said nothing. Although, I hoped Target had cameras by the doors. I tried my best to sign OR and show my face so someone would notice. He had left several hints that we were headed to California and I didn't want the police to waste their time. They needed to focus their search for me in Oregon. I could only pray that someone noticed what I was doing. Now that it was just me and him in the middle of the fucking forest, I felt like if I could incapacitate him enough to get away, I could get the police to arrest him before he could hurt someone. The opportunity hadn't presented itself, yet. Days were going by and my frustration was building.

During the day, he let me move around the place freely. He wouldn't let me behind any closed doors, however. The cabin had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a laundry/utility room. The main space was very open. The family room and dining room along with the kitchen shared the same four walls. He had his gun on him at all times, which I wasn't totally convinced he wouldn't use on me like he promised. He was kind of like a nervous teenager around me, stealing glances and trying to impress me with the things he said and did. His patience with me was beyond irritating. He didn't seem angry at my rebukes. If I didn't answer him when he asked me something, he would carry on, guessing what I would say and moving on to the next topic. It was also annoying that he knew me so well, even though I told him so very little. He was very perceptive and must be a damn good guesser when it came down to it.

"So, if you could only listen to one album the rest of your life what would it be?" he asked me as he broke some spaghetti noodles and put them in boiling water. He was making dinner and I was lying on the musty-smelling couch with my eyes closed. He had a bunch of CD's playing on random on the stereo. He had fun spending Aro's money in Salt Lake City. There must have been a hundred thousand dollars in that duffle bag he took from the office. We could survive off that for a while, which bothered me to no end.

I ignored his question as usual, but I did open my eyes.

He continued on, "I'm going to guess something with a little edge. No lite rock for you. I'm betting you are a rocker at heart but when you were younger you probably got caught up in some of the pop stuff. I bet you went through a boy band faze."

I hated him.

"You did, didn't you? God, I can just see you. Backstreet Boys? N'Sync? Just don't tell me Color Me Bad."

"I need to go to the bathroom," I announced, getting up from the couch. Talking about boy bands was almost as humiliating as having to go to the bathroom with the door open. I didn't want to be handcuffed, though, so I left it open like he wanted.

Going to the bathroom wasn't as bad as having to shower with him standing right there. He let me take my clothes off behind the shower curtain but he stood in there or just outside the door. I avoided showering as long as I could stand my own stink. He hadn't tried anything sexual with me but I got the sense that he was only going to be able to resist that so much longer. I caught him smelling me all the time, especially after I showered, another reason I had only done it twice in seven days.

I hoped he wouldn't try engaging me in conversation when I came back into the room. I wasn't so lucky.

"If I could only have one album to listen to for the rest of my life it would be AC/DC Back in Black. Classic, yet totally never going out of style. You know what I mean?"

I hated that he wanted to engage in mindless conversation. He was holding me prisoner. He was forcing me to stay here with him when I wanted to go home to Edward and be with my family. Amazingly even more frustrating, he wasn't beating me or raping me or forcing me to cook and clean for him. He was fucking courting me. It was almost worse than the other things. I could fight against the other things. I didn't know what to do with this, this wooing. I had gone back and forth all week. Maybe I should provoke him more. Maybe I should talk about Edward. Maybe I should call him names and belittle him every chance I got. Force him to get angry with me. Force him to fight me. The other side of me said maybe the way to get out of this was to play along. Pretend that I was interested. Pretend like he was winning me over. Maybe he would let his guard down and I could get my hands on the gun or some kind of weapon. I couldn't decide which was going to end most favorably for me. There were major risks either way. He could kill me if I pissed him off. Be done with me if he didn't think I was going to be what he wanted me to be. However, if I led him on too much he could do other things to me that I didn't even want to think about.

"What do you want to drink with dinner? Water?"

"I would kill for a beer," I said aloud.

"She answers," he muttered happily. "I wish we had some beer, Iz, but they didn't sell that at Target. But," he reached into a cabinet and started pulling things out. He reached way in the back and pulled out a bottle of some kind of liquor. "Ah. I think I left this and this," he pulled out one more bottle, "the last time I was here with Liam. Tequila shots or whiskey?" He smiled broadly and I felt sick again.

_Fuck it. Let's try the interested path, carefully._

"Tequila."

"I knew you would say that. We'll save the whiskey for after dinner."

He poured two shots in some big juice glasses. It was probably more than one shot but I really didn't care. I could drink the whole bottle and still be coherent. He brought them over to me and sat next to me on the couch, setting the bottle of tequila on the table in front of us.

"Bottoms up," he said tapping his glass to mine.

We drank them down and he got back up and dumped the noodles into a pasta strainer. Creep by Radiohead started playing.

"Good song. Makes you think of me, doesn't it?" he smirked. "It makes me think of you," he said more seriously.

I didn't even know how to respond to that. _Yes, you are a fucking creep. You should let me run away. _

"I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul. I want you to notice when I'm not around. You're so fucking special, I wish I was special. But I'm a creep," he sang along with the song.

If I didn't hate him so much, I might feel sorry for him. He was in so deep and had no way of getting out. He had crossed lines and there was no going back. It was death or jail for him at this point.

"Dinner is served."

He walked back over to me with a plate of spaghetti in each hand. He handed me one and set his on the coffee table in front of me. He went back to the kitchen area and grabbed some napkins and forks. We ate and he poured us each another shot of tequila.

"Did your grandparents live here?" I asked, having made my choice in strategy.

He looked at me, surprised I was talking to him, but happy. "They did not live here. They spent a lot of time here when my grandpa retired, though. He loved it out here, away from everything."

"Your mom doesn't ever come here?"

"No, this place is not exciting enough for her. When she's not on her meds and she's manic, she needs lots of activity. The city provides that."

We both continued eating and drank our tequila.

"But you came up here? A lot?"

"Not a lot. I'd use my vacation time to come here. After my grandparents died, before Liam got married, we'd come up here to go four-wheeling, fish, hunt."

"Liam knows about this place?"

What are the chances Liam would lead someone here to find us? Please, Lord let Liam tell the police about this place.

"He does but he would never tell anyone. He doesn't know we're here, but I'm sure he suspects. One thing about Liam, he never rats me out. Ever. He'd get in trouble all the time growing up and never implicate me. He isn't going to start now."

_Fucking mind reader. _

I nodded and went back to eating. The spaghetti was kind of bland but it was hot and filled the hole. I had tried to whole, _I'm not going to eat or drink_ routine the first few days but he convinced me to eat by reminding me that if I didn't eat and drink I would be too weak to do anything - including fighting him off when he decided he wanted to have his way with me. He had laughed and swore he was joking when I dug into my meal that night with renewed vigor, but I couldn't be certain and I wasn't going to find out. I needed to stay strong. I needed to be able to think clearly, so I ate with him every day.

"Did your dad hunt or did he just fish?" he asked me. I was taken aback a little at the mention of my dad. I forgot that I had told him that I went fishing with him.

"Um, he hunted but never took me along. I enjoy the relaxing part of fishing. Hunting is a little boring, not so relaxing. Plus, I really don't like the idea of shooting innocent animals."

He smiled at my confession. "Shoot the bad guys - not the innocent creatures of the world. That's my Isabella."

I was not his Isabella. I struggled to get the bite of spaghetti in my mouth down my throat when he said that.

"You, on the other hand, have no problem shooting whatever, right?" I challenged.

"You are the only thing I would have a problem shooting, Izzy."

I sighed, unable to hide my frustration with that kind of talk. I took another drink and leaned back, letting my head fall back.

"What if I can never be what you want me to be?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the ceiling above me.

"You are everything I want you to be. Don't you understand that? I have never known anyone like you. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we met like normal people. If there was no Volturis, no _Cullens_." He said my last name as if it were the most heinous swear word ever. "If we had been partnered up out here. Maybe in Seattle. We would have fallen for each other. I know it. I know I would have driven you nuts at first but with some time, you'd see," his voice trailed off. He reached his hand up and gently caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. I wanted to move so badly but I was going with the pretending to be interested strategy.

"I'd see what?" I asked, turning my head to meet his gaze.

"That you were meant for me. Nobody stands up to me like you do. Nobody challenges me like you do. Nobody amazes me like you do. I could make you happy, I could show you things and do things that would blow your mind." His eyes were burning with desire. I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw up my spaghetti. He was tragic and he was delusional.

I lifted my head back up. He reached behind him and pulled his gun from his pants. He set it on the end table farthest from me.

"If you would just try, Izzy. If you would just try to let me show you how much I feel for you." He pressed himself closer to me and cupped my cheek in his hand. His thumb softly brushed against my lips.

"I'm scared," I whispered, breathing heavy. It wasn't a lie. I was playing with fire here and if I pushed it too far, I could find myself in a situation that was going to leave me soiled, unclean. If I ever made it back to Edward, he would never touch me or look at me the same.

"I love you. I don't want to hurt you. I only want to love you, Iz. Let me love you." James leaned in and tilted my head up. He carefully pressed his lips to my throat. His fingers found their way into my hair and he pulled it back so he could kiss the side of my neck, under my ear. My heart was beating rapidly. It was unbearable but the gun was there on the table. If I could get close enough to grab it, this could all be over. I could handcuff his ass to the fucking flag pole outside and go get the police.

I leaned forward and pushed him back with my hand. He didn't fight me and sat back. I took a deep breath and moved over so I could straddle him. He inhaled sharply and his eyes widened. Once the shock wore off, I could actually feel him trembling underneath me. His hands were back on my face. His fingers barely touched my skin as he moved them down my neck. He kept going, down my shoulders, down my arms. He grabbed one of my hands and pressed it to his chest.

"Do you feel what you do to me?" His heart was beating so fast. I could feel it pounding inside his chest. "You think I don't have a heart but it beats like this whenever I'm around you."

He let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. His head pressed into my heaving breasts. He sort of was hugging me, breathing me in. This was so wrong but I needed to get the gun. I was going to have to keep him occupied so I could reach for the weapon.

He lifted his head and began kissing my neck again. "So much better than I hoped," he mumbled against my skin as his tongue slipped out and slowly moved up to my ear. I looked at the gun. It was not within my reach, I was going to have to lean towards it to get it.

James' hand slipped under my shirt and my body went rigid.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I could never hurt you," he tried to reassure me.

Ah! Part of me wanted to scream. He didn't want to hurt me? This is what he said that first day. He had no idea what love was. You didn't force someone to love you back. You didn't force the person you love to leave what they love behind.

It was now or never. He was kissing my neck, his hand creeping up my side. It wouldn't be long before his hand found it's way to my bra. His fingers hit the bottom of it and instead of running his hand on top, I could feel him press his fingers into my flesh so he could push his way under. Fuck. I leaned to the side and reached for the gun. Before I knew what was happening, he threw me on my back, hard against the coffee table in front of him. The back of my head hit the far end of the table, causing an indescribable amount of pain.

I opened my eyes to look at him and I had never felt so afraid in my whole life. He was livid. His eyes were wild and more than anything, hurt. He grabbed the gun off the end table, stood up, and shoved it back in his waistband. He was breathing so heavy. He looked down at me and seemed to be warring with himself over what to do with me.

"I have been more than patient, Isabella. Don't take advantage of that patience. Don't take advantage of how I feel about you. The next time you make me think you're ready for this, I am going to take you. So, don't fuck with me. Don't you fuck with me!" he seethed, his eyes almost black. He stared down at me for a few seconds and then left me there, slamming the door to the bedroom shut behind him.

I laid there unable to catch my breath. I couldn't move. He had left me in the room alone. He had closed the door that separated us but I couldn't move. I couldn't even will my legs to run if I tried. There was a moment there, I thought I was dead. One of these days he wasn't going to find the restraint. He is going to kill me when I rejected him one too many times. Whether he rapes me before he kills me is still uncertain. So much for the faking interest plan. Epic fail.

He came out a few minutes later, handcuffs in hand. This was our nightly routine. We got ready for bed and then he handcuffed himself to me. He wasn't lying about being a light sleeper when he did sleep, which never seemed to be when I was awake. I woke up one night and thought about trying to move so I could possibly put him in a choke hold, but he popped up asking me if I was ok the second I tried to move his arm off me. He attached the cuff to his and my right wrist so he could sleep with his arm draped over me. He never touched me inappropriately, just uncomfortably. He - cuddled. It was so disturbing.

James didn't look me in the eye the rest of the night, nor did he speak. It was very unnerving. We brushed our teeth and let me change into some pajamas before cuffing me. We climbed into bed and he switched off the light. I don't know what time I finally fell asleep but it was definitely after I cried every ounce of water out of my body.

"_Ok, don't laugh, but this is my favorite." Edward narrowed his eyes at me and stepped aside so I could see the very odd shaped pumpkin sitting on the hay bail behind him. It kind of looked like a giant orange eggplant. _

_A smile overtook my lips, I tried to stop it. I pressed my lips together so I wouldn't release the giggle that was dying to come out. I nodded as I tried to think of a good reason why that should not be our Halloween jack-o-lantern._

"_Now, I know it doesn't look like your traditional pumpkin. I know it takes some imagination to see its potential but I think this could be the greatest pumpkin ever. I think the things we could do with this thing could win us best jack-o-lantern in the neighborhood."_

"_Do we have a jack-o-lantern contest in the neighborhood?"_

"_No, but if we did, we would win with this guy right here," Edward said confidently. _

"_It looks like someone stretched it out, pulled it like taffy or something."_

"_It's not perfect, I know, but that's why we have to take it home with us. Everybody wants perfect. We should have unique. Because we might not be perfect but you and me babe are one of a kind."_

"_That is one of the sweetest things you have ever said," I said taking his hand and kissing him sweetly on his very perfect lips. He was perfect and one of a kind, but I wasn't going to argue with him._

_Our day at the pumpkin patch was a success. The weather was pleasant for October in Chicago. You never knew what you would get this time of year. You could have a day in the 70's and then hit freezing the next. Today it was sunny and in the low 60's, a beautiful fall day. We bought our imperfect yet perfect pumpkin and headed to the car. _

_I hopped in the passenger side while Edward put the pumpkin in the trunk. _

"_Bella, get out of the car!" he screamed. I whipped my head around, trying to see what he was yelling about but the trunk was up and I couldn't see out the back window. I reached for the door handle but the door wouldn't open._

"_Bella, please, baby, open the door! Get out of the fucking car!" Edward's pain was heart-wrenching. _

_I tried again to open the door but it wasn't working. I fumbled with the door lock and tried again but I couldn't get it to budge. _

"_Please get out! Bella! Bellaaaaa!" he wailed and I pressed my hands over my ears. I couldn't stand to hear it. It hurt too much to hear him hurting so much. I looked over to the driver's side and there was James._

"_Buckle up, Iz. You were meant for me." _

I awoke with James pressed against me tightly. His head buried into my hair. His leg tangled up with mine. I was breathing hard and my face was wet with the tears I had cried in my sleep. My nightmare was still very much real. I didn't know when it was ever going to end.

Once he got up, he removed the handcuffs, just like every other morning but he didn't put them away.

"I have to run into town a little later today. I'm gonna have to lock you up. I'll try to not be long since you'll probably be a little uncomfortable," he informed me as he was making us breakfast.

"What do you need in town?" I asked, trying to figure out what we needed so badly that he'd take the risk.

"None of your business," he answered not looking at me. He was still mad about last night, I could tell. Of course, I tried to grab his gun while he was desperately trying to seduce me. I'm sure he thought I was thinking about killing him. Which, surprisingly I wasn't. I had planned on restraining him and getting the police. I was going soft. Can't have that. Not if I wanted to get out of here alive.

He got ready to go after breakfast. He got me dressed and made me put on my coat, hat, and gloves. I wasn't sure why, since I thought I was getting left behind. It wasn't until he walked me over to the flag pole, the same one I imagined cuffing him to last night, that I realized why I was wearing all this gear.

"Sorry about this, Iz. Nothing else can really hold you if you get determined enough. I don't think even you can pull this out the the cement," James said gripping the pole and shaking it. It was locked in tight to the cement slab underneath it.

"You're going to leave me out here? Like a dog or something?" I complained.

"Sorry, after yesterday's little stunt, I don't think I can trust you around people. You might get somebody killed and I don't feel up for it." He shrugged and headed for the car.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I kicked at the rocky ground in frustration.

I spent the time he was gone screaming my lungs out but nobody came. Not that I really thought they would. I imagined climbing up the pole and getting the handcuff off that way but there were some big bracket things up near the top that the cuffs wouldn't be able to get past. When James got back, I was sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth, trying to conserve body heat. He carried in some packages, one of them was quite large and flat. I couldn't figure it out. The big one was wrapped in brown paper. After what felt like a lifetime, James emerged from the cabin and released me. He went to the trunk and pulled out a twelve pack of beer.

"Ask and you shall receive," he smirked, slamming the trunk closed. I guess he wasn't mad at me anymore. Back to wooing.

When we got inside I didn't see the packages anywhere. I hoped they weren't some sort of torture device and that's why he looked so happy again. I think the two hours I spent on the fucking pole were enough torture for one day. He made a fire and sat me in front of it with a warm cup of coffee. He was being too nice. He made me lunch and left me alone for the most part. He bought himself some hunting magazines and spent a good hour looking at them on the couch quietly.

Things were kind of peaceful until we heard tires on the rocky driveway outside. James turned white as a ghost and immediately grabbed his gun. He was on me before I could move and had his hand pressed securely over my mouth as he moved carefully to the front window to look out.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he muttered. "Listen closely, Iz. I am not fucking around here. You are going to sit in the bedroom and you are not going to say a fucking word. The man outside there is like the brother I never had. If you make me shoot him because you think he's going to help you get away, I will be very put out. You will also be making a very nice Irish woman a widow and three little kids fatherless. Don't fuck with me." His tone was almost identical to what it was last night. He wasn't kidding. He wasn't bluffing. Liam Cummins was here and James would shoot him if I made a peep. He pushed me towards the bedroom and shut the door behind me. I started breathing again once I was alone; I hadn't realized that I stopped when he threatened me. I stood by the door, needing to hear what they were going to say to one another.

I could hear James open the front door but it was Liam's voice I heard first.

"You fucking son of a bitch. I really didn't want to find you here. Dammit!"

"What the fuck are you doing here? Are you insane?" James asked. I heard the door close again. I wasn't sure if they were both inside or out.

"Am I insane? Hello kettle meet the fucking pot."

They were in.

"Are you sure no one followed you up here? Jesus, Liam you could fucking ruin everything!"

"Who the hell would follow me? The fucking cops came to talk to me a week ago and I told them you probably were hiding out in Fresno. Part of me hoped you were in fucking Fresno but part of me knew your ass was here."

You have to be kidding me? He told the cops to go to Fresno when he had a gut feeling James was holding me prisoner here. I was starting to like him until I heard that.

"You need to leave and go back to your family. Forget you know me. Forget about this place. Forget everything," James pleaded.

"James, this is not right, man. You need to turn yourself in. What the fuck are you doing?"

I couldn't hear James answer.

"Is the woman here? The Cullen woman? You guys are all over the fucking news. They're going to find you, man."

"They aren't going to find me as long as you keep your mouth shut."

"I need to know, J. I need to know if you were really working for those guys. The guys that killed Riley. Is that why you didn't come to the funeral? Is that why I haven't heard shit from you? I mean come on. Tell me this is all a big fucking mistake. Tell me you saved this Bella person from the bad guys and you two have been having some steamy love affair and her hot headed husband is calling you a bad guy because she picked you and not him."

_My hot headed husband?_ What the hell did that mean?

"Liam, you need to go home to your family. The only ones you need to be worried about are Maggie and the kids. Trust me. They should be your only worry."

"No, you need to tell me! My brother was fucking blown to bits! My mother didn't even have anything to bury! These Volutri people fucking blew him up and now the news says you were one of them. Is it true?"

Liam was pissed. I wasn't sure how pissed but maybe enough that he wasn't going ot keep James' secret.

"I was one of them. But so was Riley."

_What!_

"What?" Liam spoke my thought.

"Riley was one of them, too. He was supposed to deliver a fucking package. I don't know what he was doing but he obviously didn't deliver it in time."

_Holy fucking shit._ Riley Cummins was given the bomb that blew his own ass up. He was probably planting it in Emmett's jeep. Oh my god.

"You're lying." Liam didn't seem to like this information.

"I wish I was, man. Trust me, we did not know what we were getting ourselves into. It was harmless at first. Fixing a few things here and there for some bad guys. Getting to keep some stuff, getting paid some pretty good money. At first, we weren't asked to hurt anybody."

"You got him into it didn't you? He didn't stumble into that kind of fucked up trouble on his own. You. He followed you. Didn't he?"

_Oh, Liam was pissed. _

"You know I would never have let him get into it if I thought it was going to end like this!"

"Ha! Fuck! James you never think when you get into things like this! Jesus! This is too much. Too much."

They were both quiet for a minute. The silence was killing me. Not being able to see was killing me.

"Where the hell is Bella Cullen? I want to see that you haven't hurt her."

"She's fine. Izzy is fine and you can't see her. You need to go."

"Her husband is in Portland you know, with his brother and father. They're here looking for her. They aren't going to stop until they find her."

_Edward._ Edward was in Portland. Oh god. Edward, Emmett, and Carlisle. They were looking for me. How would they ever find me here. I so badly wanted to open the door and ask Liam if Edward was ok. Hot headed, I guess. Liam's earlier comment made sense now.

Out of nowhere there was a tapping noise behind me. I turned and looked, startled by the sound. There, outside the window, was the man I had been dreaming about every night since I saw him last. Edward.

I ran to the window and unlocked it. Carefully and as quietly as I could, I tried to push it open. It squeaked due to probably years of not being used. Edward was practically shredding the screen with his fingers, trying to help me get the window up.

"Bella," he gasped, the emotion in his voice causing a sob to break free from my chest.

"Edward," I cried softly as I touched his face with my hand. He was real. He was real and he was here. He was here and that was the best and worst news I had in days.

"Let's get you out of there. Come on, I'll pull you out."

I held his face in my hands and I stuck my head out enough so I could kiss him. I needed to kiss him so very badly. He planted both hands on my face, as well, and kissed me back like it had been years not days that we had been separated.

"Edward, you have to go. Go get the police. I can't come." I couldn't go. Not with Liam in there with James. If he found me gone he would kill Liam. If he caught Edward trying to rescue me he would definitely kill him without a second thought.

Edward looked like I just slapped him across the face. "Bella. I am not fucking leaving you here. You are coming with me or I am going to crawl through that fucking window and drag you out," Edward said, meaning every word.

"Please, we need the police. It's the only way."

I heard noise outside the door and quickly fixed the curtains and stepped away from the window.

"Let me see her, James." I heard Liam demand. The door flew open and there was James and the man I saw in the newspaper announcement.

"There, she's fine. See. Now go!" James yelled. I thought maybe they would both leave but Liam didn't move. Then James did what I hoped he wouldn't and his eyes moved to the open window.

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I promise to update soon. Just for the record, I don't think James is bipolar like his mom. He has some tendencies but not a full blown disorder. He tries very hard to control his emotions because of how he grew up - with someone who had no control. Also, Liam didn't tell the Cullen boys because he didn't know for sure James was there. He wanted to check it out and hear James' side of the story. He's known James a long time and was hoping there was a reasonable explanation. But James just dug himself a big old hole. He's my tragic anti-hero. I feel kind of bad for him. In another world, where there was no Edward, James and Bella could have had something. She might have been able to save him from himself but now it is much too late for that. Thanks for reading and reviewing. We broke the 200 review mark, you made my day. Thanks everybody!**


	40. Chapter 40 Heaven and Hell

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.**

** Ok. I forget how many chapters I said I had left. But I foresee two more and then the epilogue. I don't want it to end but it's getting closer and closer. The action is out of control. We go back in time a little to where Edward left us last time not Bella. Enjoy the ride... **

EPOV

"Turn the car around! Turn the car around and follow the pickup!" I screamed as I jumped back in the car.

"What?" Emmett asked, frazzled.

"Liam just left and Maggie shouted we should follow. Turn the fucking car around! Hurry up!"

We were going to find Bella. I knew it. I felt it. I raised a hand to Maggie as we drove by her, my only way of thanking her for helping us. My mind was racing with so many thoughts. I should have found a way to get a gun this last week, but Dad and Emmett never let me out of their sight. They would never let me get my hands on a gun. How was I going to take James down once we got there, wherever there was? What if he had her tied up and I couldn't get to her? What if I caught him in the act of hurting her? I would rip his head off with my own two hands, that's what I'd do. What if Liam helped him and made it harder to rescue her? What if James was there but Bella wasn't? What if we were too late? I shook my head. I couldn't think that way. She was alive. She was alive and waiting for me to find her.

We spent the next two hours carefully following Liam. Emmett was ready to kill me by about minute three. I was all,

"You're too close, he's going to notice us!"

"You're too far, you're going to lose him! Speed up."

"Stay in the right lane in case he decides to exit suddenly!"

"Don't get behind the semi, we won't be able to see!"

He was ready to elbow me in the face, I could tell. I was sitting in the center of the backseat, my eyes never leaving the back of the white pickup truck we were following. I was leaning forward so much so, it was like I was sitting in between Emmett and my father.

"Edward, if you don't shut the hell up, I am going to pull over and kick your ass out of this car. Do you understand me?" Emmett said through clenched teeth.

I leaned back and tried to bite my tongue but I have never been so anxious. If we blew this, we could lose her forever. Liam drove through Portland and then we headed west along Sunset Highway. We drove past the cities, past the smaller towns, and then were in the middle of nothing but farmland. We followed Sunset until Liam exited, following a Highway 6. The sign said OR-6/Banks/Tillamook. We seemed to be on this road forever. At first, it was like the rest of the drive but soon we were surrounded by nothing but big ass trees. The road was lined with them for miles and miles and_ miles_. We were going deeper and deeper into the fucking state forest. There were mountains and so many fucking trees. I never thought we would stop. Liam hit his brakes, though, and we saw him turn right on some unmarked road. Emmett and Dad looked at each other and I could see them starting to have second thoughts.

"Keep following him or I will jump out of this car and follow him on foot," I warned.

"Maybe we should get the police. Call the FBI agent you've been talking to," Dad suggested.

Emmett lifted up his phone. "I have no service. I should be able to call 911, though."

"We don't even know where we are! Could you please just keep going. If we lose him deeper in the forest, we could lose her."

"What's your plan if we do find them? We have nothing to defend ourselves with. We know he has at least one gun. We need the police," Dad argued.

"Let's just follow him a little farther," Emmett said, making my day.

Emmett turned to follow Liam, but he was driving very slow. We followed until Liam turned again a couple miles later. This time we hung back. We waited a couple beats and then pulled up close. There was a sign near Liam's turnoff that said NO TRESPASSING PRIVATE DRIVE.

_Holy shit, we were here. He's been hiding her in the middle of the fucking forest._

My heart was beating out of my chest. I jumped out of the car.

"Edward," Emmett quietly called to me as he disconnected his seatbelt and leapt from the car as well. "You can't just run up there without a plan. Do you want to get yourself shot? I'm pretty sure that's not the way Bella wants this to end."

I paced in front of him. I needed a plan but I didn't have a plan. There was a good possibility that Bella was up there, up that drive. I needed to see if she was there. That was my plan. I needed to know she was there and she was ok. There were three of us and two of them. If Bella was ok, if she wasn't hurt, it would be four against two. If Liam could find it in his heart to be the fucking good guy he had to be if he was married to someone like Maggie, maybe he would help, too. Five against one. We had the fucking advantage.

"My phone gets no service here, we have to head back to the main highway if we want to call 911," Dad said getting out of the car. He was holding his phone high above his head, like that would get the signal through all the forty foot trees.

"Take Dad back to the main road. Call for some help. I'm going to scope the place out. Just see what's up there," I suggested, hopeful they would not try to stop me because I was prepared to take them both down. I was not going anywhere without Bella.

"I'll stay with Edward. Emmett, you go back the highway and call the police. Get someone here. The last sign I saw said we were 12 miles from Tillamook. They should be able to find us if you tell them that," Dad replied, shoving his phone in his pocket. I never expected him to support me on this. I thought he was going to be the first one I would have to take down.

Emmett looked uncertain about this idea but he listened to our father and got back in the car. He turned around and headed back the way we came. I looked at my dad and the worry was radiating from his very being. He agreed to let me look for Bella, but I could see it scared him to death.

"Stay in the trees. Until we know what we're getting ourselves into," he said, walking towards the line of trees on the left of the drive. He stopped and turned on me unexpectedly. "And please, son, try not to do anything to get yourself killed. For Bella's sake if not for your mother's."

"I have no plans on getting killed, Dad. I promise. Come on," I bounded ahead of him and up the drive.

We walked, hidden in the trees. No one would be expecting us, but I still felt very conscious of every branch snap and leaf crunch my feet made. About a hundred yards up the path was a small cabin. There was smoke coming from the chimney and Liam's truck was parked in front of it, as well as another car with Utah license plates. They were here. They were fucking here. I almost stopped breathing. I was so close. Dad mouthed to me that we should go around the back. There was a small shed and we crept up behind it as cover.

"Let's wait for Emmett and the police. We'll keep watch. Make sure no one leaves," Dad whispered nervously.

I shook my head. I needed to see if she was inside. I wasn't sure what impact Liam's visit would have. Maybe Dad was thinking what I was thinking - James would need to take off with her because they had been found out. There were three windows on the side of the cabin facing us. One looked like a bathroom window - narrow, with frosted glass. The other two were like bedroom windows. I needed to look inside. I needed to know if she was in there.

"Please, Edward. Just stay here and wait. There's no need to do anything unless we see them leave," my father hissed angrily at my stubbornness.

"I'm just going to sneak a peek. That's it, I promise." Well, I promise as long as he's not hurting her or if she's not alone and I can't get her out of there. If I see her, I know I won't be able to just sit out here, waiting.

I crouched down low and moved towards the cabin. I pressed my back against the siding and moved carefully towards the window. From the side I approached, I couldn't see anything. I looked back at my dad, who was watching me with the most tense expression. I scooted closer to the window and took a good look.

Praise the Lord and all the saints in heaven - there she was.

I literally could not breathe. I had to look away for a second and bent over, trying to remember how to inhale. Dad hooted like an owl. I looked up at him and his worried face. _An owl, really?_ I gave him the thumbs up before popping back up and looking in the room again. She was alone. The door was closed and she was standing close to it, maybe trying to listen to what the men inside were saying. Very carefully, I tapped on the window. She didn't turn around. I tapped again and she spun around. My Bella. My love. _My life_. It was as if the entire world disappeared in that moment. All that existed was her. Her and me. I started pulling at the screen while she moved to open the window. I practically ripped the screen to shreds and helped her push the window open.

"Bella!" An emotional gasp was all I could get out. My beautiful wife let out a strangled sob.

"Edward," she cried softly as she touched my face with her hand. It was almost like she didn't believe I was real. Her touch was heavenly. All the pain, all the suffering evaporated in her presence. The feelings of joy were almost as overwhelming, though. I would never be without her again.

"Let's get you out of there. Come on, I'll pull you out." I was moments away from holding her in my arms. Eight fucking days. I wouldn't go more than eight hours without touching her ever again.

She held my face in my hands, leaning out the window. Kissing her was more than what I wanted, it was what I needed. She pressed her lips to mine and wiped away all the remnants of despair. I held her face in my hands and could barely bring myself to stop. Kissing her - another thing that I would never go without for longer than a workday. I might need to stop by the station more often for lunch. Four hours. I might be able to go four hours.

She pulled back and out of my grasp. "Edward, you have to go. Go get the police. I can't come."

Her words caused all the fear and anxiety to explode through my body like bombs blowing apart a foxhole. She wanted me to go? We were so not doing this again. She was coming with me kicking and fucking screaming this time if need be.

"Bella. I am not fucking leaving you here. You are coming with me or I am going to crawl through that fucking window and drag you out." There was no way in hell I was going to walk away from her now. She was right here, unguarded. What the fuck was she afraid of? We needed to get going before James came looking for her.

"Please, we need the police. It's the only way."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was going to be the death of me. She turned towards the door. The look of fear and panic written all over her face. She tried to pull the curtains in front of the open window. Suddenly there were hands on me pulling me down. My dad was beside me with his finger to his lips, warning me with his eyes to be quiet.

"Let me see her, James," a voice from inside said firmly.

My heart was beating so hard I thought for sure it was going to explode. James was outside her door. I didn't get her out fast enough. _Fuck!_

"There, she's fine. See. Now go!" James yelled. Nobody said anything for a few seconds.

There was a loud bang as someone slammed their hand or something on the open window pane above my head. Dad and I both tensed at the same time. Our backs were pressed so tightly to the wall behind us. No one would see us if they looked out, only if they thought to look down. I stopped breathing and I was pretty sure Dad did, too.

"Is this what you fucking want, Izzy? Is this what I have to do? Huh?" he screamed at her. There was so much rage and violence in his tone. I started to stand and Dad practically threw himself on top of me.

"What the fuck!" Liam shouted in surprise.

"I just needed some air. I swear to God! Just some air. Please, James! You know I wouldn't do anything that could get someone hurt. You know I wouldn't want Liam's family to be without him, not after they lost Riley the way they did. Please. It's fine. I was feeling sick. I needed some air," Bella lied and lied well. She was protecting Liam, not herself. That's why she said she wouldn't leave. He had threatened to kill Liam if she tried anything. Fuck! Why can't the woman have an ounce of fucking self-preservation for once!

"You can't leave, Iz. You can't leave. You know this! You know!"

"I know! I know, I swear. I was not trying to leave. I'm staying with you. I know I have to stay with you. It's ok. Please put the gun away. You're scaring your best friend. Please put it away," I heard her beg. Having to listen to her promise to be with James was killing me. All the relief and freedom I felt a moment ago was completely gone.

"This is so fucked up. What the hell is going on? Did you tell her you were going to kill me? Do you understand that you are holding this poor woman against her will? James. What are you doing? What happened to you?"

"Shut up, Liam."

"You need to stop this. You need to let her go. Let me take her. We'll give you plenty of time to get away. Let me take her back to Portland. Come on man. This isn't you."

"You aren't taking her anywhere. She's mine! You can't take her!"

I squeezed my eyes shut as I pressed my balled up fists to the sides of my head. I was going to explode soon. Why couldn't he just let her go? My dad's hands were clamped down on my shoulders and I could hear him quietly shushing me. We had to be quiet. If James knew I was here, he would definitely kill someone.

"Please, put the gun away, James. Please. I'm not going to go with him, ok? I'm going to stay here with you. I want to stay here with you."

"Don't lie, Izzy. Don't start lying to me! I told you last night I won't tolerate it! If you push me I will push back. Is that what you want?"

_Shut up, Bella. Shut up, Bella. Who gives a shit if he shoots Liam? Don't get him mad at you. Shut up! _ _Self-mother-fucking-preservation. Jesus!_

"I'm not lying. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I want to stay with you so no on gets hurt. Please. Let Liam go and we'll pack up and we'll go. Come on. Put the gun away. Please."

"He isn't going to shoot me," Liam said, his voice full of annoyance. "James. Game over. I'm taking Bella, Izzy, whatever the hell her name is, and we are going back to Portland. I'll take her back to my place. Let her clean up, eat something, Maggie can look her over, make sure she's ok, and then we'll take her to the cops. That should give you plenty of time to get out of here. Come on, Bella, Izzy, whatever, let's go."

**Bang!**

Dad and I couldn't help but jump at the sound of the gun firing. I thought for sure my heart stopped beating.

_Fuck!_

I went to stand up again and my dad literally knocked me down and covered me with his body.

"Don't you move, son. Don't even think about it," he whispered quite menacingly.

"Jesus!" It was Liam's voice.

I needed to get up, I needed to see. Did he shoot Bella for trying to leave? What the fuck was going on in there?

"The next one will not miss, I promise you that. She isn't going anywhere with you. You're starting to make me reconsider letting you go anywhere."

"You get my brother killed and then you point your fucking gun at me and shoot it at my feet? Who are you?"

"I never wanted Riley to get hurt! I didn't ask him to join, he asked me to get him in. He was a big boy. He knew the risks."

"He knew the risks? He knew nothing. He was a naive kid! Hero-worshipping a fucking idiot! I stood by you all these years. I have been there for you when no one else was. I treated you like my brother, my family. Now, I feel like I don't even know you at all."

"You need to go, Liam. It's best that you don't know me. Forget all about me."

"Let the girl go, James. Let her come with me."

_Please, please, please._

"No."

_Asshole!_

"It's ok, Liam. Go. Go home to your family. Please," Bella urged him.

When I get my hands on her, I am going to strangle her. No, I'm going to kiss her, hug her, lock her in a room with me forever - but I'll want to strangle her because she is not trying to get the fuck out of there.

"I'll go, but I am calling the cops. I am telling them everything. I am telling them where to find you and where to look next."

Liam was one brave son of a bitch. James shot at him and he's still mouthing off. I pushed at my dad to get him off me. It was time to move. It was time to act. I was going to take down James Duncan once and for all. My father got off me and I got up slowly, staying low. I ran back to the shed by the side of the cabin. I pushed on the door; it opened with ease. I stepped inside and Dad followed me.

"What are you thinking?" he asked me, anticipating he wasn't going to like it.

I rummaged through the shit in there. There were some yard tools, some fishing poles, animal traps. I grabbed a shovel and pick ax. I handed the shovel to my dad.

"No," he said firmly, pushing the shovel back in my hand and grabbing hold of the ax. "You are not going after anyone with this."

I narrowed my eyes at him but figured I could manage beating James' head in the the shovel just as well as the pick ax.

"We're going to stop him when he comes out. Surprise attack. If we can knock his gun loose, it's four against one. He loses."

"And if we can't knock his gun away? Then it's four people against one gun. I don't know, Edward. I think we should wait. Emmett has to have talked to the police. They must be on their way. We were only twelve miles from town. They'll be here any minute, son, any minute."

"He's going to leave with her again. Liam said, he's going to tell. He knows he has to go. He can't leave again, Dad. I can't lose her. I can't." I inhaled raggedly. I was on the verge of falling apart but I had to hold it together. I had to get Bella away from James.

"What's the plan?" my father acquiesced.

We headed back outside and went to the side of the cabin again, peeking around the corner by the front of it. No one had come out yet. There were some bushes in front but not enough to provide cover. The best plan was to stand right by the door, wait for him to come out and hit him hard. My dad could take cover by the cars. Ready and waiting should something go wrong. He ran along the trees and crossed over down the driveway, out of view of the cabin and then backtracked back up from the other side. I kept my body pressed against the cabin and made my way towards the front door. It was only a matter of seconds before I heard them. There was no time to prepare. No time to talk myself out of this. This was happening. I was going to save Bella.

The door opened and Liam walked out first, followed by Bella. She had a black duffle bag in her hand, the same one James took from Aro. James didn't come out right away and it took every ounce of self control not to say something to Bella, to not reach out and grab her. Then, there he was. James strode out of the cabin and just as I raised the shovel to strike him, he turned my direction to close the front door. Our eyes locked and the look of surprise on his face was almost satisfaction enough. Of course, the look on his face when the shovel struck head was even more satisfying. He fell like a limp rag doll.

I raised the shovel over my head ready to beat the living shit out of him. He was out cold. I would be beating a defenseless person. But James wasn't just a person, he was the fucking devil. He deserved everything I gave him. I was about to unleash my revenge when I heard my dad's voice, "Edward, stop! Hasn't there been enough killing?"

I looked up and all the hate and all the rage melted away. There she was - Bella. My Bella. She dropped the duffle bag and ran back towards me. I threw the shovel down, running to meet her as she leapt into my arms. I couldn't touch her enough. I wanted to feel every part of her on me. I needed to feel that she was whole and alive.

"Don't you ever leave me again. Do you understand me? Don't you ever, ever leave me again," I gushed as I could hear her become undone. She was sobbing, unable to respond back to me.

"Bella," my dad said, coming to my side. If he thought I was going to let her go, he was sorely mistaken. I now understood the excessive touching that went on between Emmett and Rosalie after we found her. I had eight days to make up for. They only had one. I might not be letting go of Bella for a very long time.

"Carlisle," she whimpered from my shoulder. She turned her head so she could see him.

"It is so good to see you, Mrs. Cullen. We have missed you like no other." My dad never spoke truer words. He placed his hand on her head and gave her his version of my crooked smile.

It was the happiest moment of my life. Holding Bella in my arms, after everything we had been through, was heaven on earth.

But the devil wasn't finished with us yet.

I'm not sure what happened first because it seemed that everything happened at the same time. Screaming from the front door, police sirens, a helicopter overhead, voices coming from the air, my dad yelling, Bella yelling, gunshots, blood on me, blood on Bella, blood on my father. Blood.

Bella.

Bella running.

Bella running away from me.

Everything went from perfect to disastrous in a split second. One second she was mine again, the next she was gone.

**A/N: I am evil with the cliffhangers. Sorry. I was going to do this and the next chapter together but then it would be super, super long. Better to give you a little now and a little later. Right? Let me know - I can take the heat!**


	41. Chapter 41 She Hates Me

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.**

**I'm getting this out extra early. I told some people Friday but finished it tonight so I'm posting it right away. But I do so knowing I'm going away until Tuesday and will not be able to post again until mid-next week. Thanks for all the reviews and added alerts. The chapter is both Bella and Edward's POV but the songs in the beginning are all James. Amazing what a knock to the head will do. I'm a little soft on this particular bad guy. I think I have Stockholm Syndrome. **

**melferd - hopefully all will be forgiven when you read the second to last sentence XOXO!**

**As always, hit review and let me know how happy you are that this chapter was updated so quickly!!**

_I know some day you'll have a beautiful life  
I know you'll be the sun  
in somebody else's sky  
but why, why can't it be mine?  
_Black - Pearl Jam

* * *

_In a trap, trip I can't grip  
Never thought I'd be the one who'd slip  
Then I started to realize  
I was living one big lie  
She fucking hates me  
Trust  
She fucking hates me  
_She Hates Me - Puddle of Mudd

BPOV

It was heaven. In Edward's arms, I felt like my world had been righted in an instant. Nightmare over. Me, the girl who hates crying, sobbed incessantly against his shoulder. The emotional release was as significant as my physical release from captivity. Words cannot describe the elation I felt. We were both alive and together. Nothing could be better. I was safe.

I heard the police sirens first. They were not on top of us but they were close. It was a welcomed sound. We were going to get some help.

Then, without warning, it was hell all over again because the next thing I heard shattered that feeling of safety immediately.

"Fucking CK! I should have killed you from the start!"

I looked over at James, who a moment ago had been knocked out cold. Now he stood with one hand on his bleeding head and his gun in the other. His gun was pointed right at Edward. Everything I had been through, everything I had been willing to endure would be for naught if James killed Edward now. I let my arms drop from around Edward's neck. Everything was in this weird slow motion. I felt like I was moving through quicksand. James took a step forward and took his aim.

"No! Please!" I screamed.

"No!" Carlisle yelled at the same time.

I felt a hand pushing me as I watched James pull the trigger. Blood splattered onto me and Edward. Carlisle had moved in front of the bullet and took it in the back. He fell right into Edward's arms. The next thing I know, there's a helicopter overhead and someone is shouting from a bullhorn or something.

"Everyone on the ground! Get down on the ground!"

The sirens were much louder, the calvary was on it's way, but James was still standing there with his gun. He realized his shot had missed its mark. It didn't matter that there were police overhead or coming up the drive, James was going kill Edward. This whole thing was minutes from being over and James was still going to kill Edward out of pure spite. As much as I wanted to help Carlisle, I needed to stop James and the only way to do that was to go to him.

So, I ran.

I ran away from Edward.

I ran towards James and tried to convince him to put his gun down or point it at me.

"Stop! Stop, please. I'm here. I'm here. You got me. Kill _me_. Please!"

He wouldn't look at me. He was so fixated on Edward. I pushed him. He pushed me, trying to get me out of the way. I wouldn't stop, getting the way of the gun so he couldn't get a clear shot. Carlisle's body was in the way, making it that much harder.

"If you were dead CK, if you were dead it would have worked!"

"James! It's over. Drop the gun and let this be over!" I pushed him. The police cars pulled up, three of them.

James looked at me. His eyes took a moment to focus. Reality sunk in and he grabbed me and pulled me into the cabin.

"Bella!" Edward wailed. I thought nothing would be worse than the sound of his heartbreak the night James took me, but I was wrong.

James started shoving things in front of the door and pulling all the curtains and shades closed, effectively barricading us in.

"Fucking CK. Fucking CK! You have no idea how much I want to kill him," James raged as he paced back in forth, his gun still in hand.

"Let's think this through, ok. You need to calm down. You need to think." I tried to calm him the only way I knew. I placed myself in his pacing path and put my hand on his chest. He stopped and stared at my hand. We stood there, the only sound in the house was that of our heavy breaths.

"You were never going to be mine, were you?" he finally asked. He sounded like a little boy, a sad little boy.

I didn't know what to say. If I lied it could enrage him like earlier; if I told the truth it could send him out the door on a suicide mission to kill Edward.

"I told you I didn't want to hear his name again but you said it every day."

I shook my head, "I did not. I did as you said. I haven't said his name since you said not to."

He placed his hand over mine and looked me in the eye. "Every night when you were asleep. You said his name every night. Something tells me you are always going to belong to him. Whether he's dead or alive. Here or a million miles away. He'll be in your dreams every night, claiming you as his."

My heart clenched. I would always be Edward's, although I preferred him alive and not dead, here and not a million miles away. I did dream about Edward. It surprised me more that I spoke in my sleep than that I said Edward's name. The reality of everything seemed to be crashing down on James. Maybe the hit to the head snapped him out of his delusion.

"I love him. I'll always love him. I don't love him to hurt you. I'm sorry it hurts you. I'm sorry I can't be what you want me to be. I really am," I honestly replied. It was true. I actually felt bad that he felt so strongly about me. I felt bad I couldn't reciprocate. None of this would be happening right now if I could love James instead of Edward. That was never going to happen, however.

James was a tortured soul. I remembered the words he spoke at the bar before Thanksgiving. _I think God wanted me to find you. I think he sent me. To save you or so you can save me_. He saved me from Aro. All this - taking me, keeping me here - was about him wanting me to save him, too. I couldn't do it, though. I failed. At least, I failed at saving him the way he wanted me to save him.

James reached up and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. He cupped my cheek with his hand.

"I'm sorry I stole you away. You deserve better than me. I don't know why I thought I deserved to keep you. I'm no good. I'm never going to be good."

"We can make this better. You can give yourself up peacefully and I swear to you I will tell them all the good things you did. You saved me from Aro. You didn't let those monsters hurt me. You could have hurt me and you didn't." Again, I spoke the truth. He could have hurt me in so many ways and he didn't. In fact, I was probably going to have a hard time convincing people he didn't. Everyone, I'm sure, assumed the worst.

He dropped his hand and looked towards the door. He began to shake his head back and forth.

"As soon as we left Chicago, it had to be live with you or die without you, Izzy."

A wave of nausea hit me. What did that mean? I still could picture him running out there trying to shoot Edward, not caring that the police would shoot him in return.

"Nobody needs to die. Nobody has to die today. Please."

"I want to show you something," he said quietly, taking me by the hand and leading me to the second bedroom, the one I hadn't been in since we got here. "I wanted to surprise you when you had some more time to get used to being here, looks like that's not going to happen, huh?" he laughed without humor. There was a small twin bed and nightstand against one wall. The wallpaper on the walls was peeling and light seeped through the navy blue curtains that hung on the windows. On the bed sat the packages that he bought earlier today. It didn't seem possible that this morning I was chained to the pole out front like a dog, screaming my head off for somebody, anybody and now the place was surrounded by police. Edward was outside probably trying to claw his way through the cops to get in here.

"I bought you these as a present. I was going to give them to you when you were ready to be with me, another thing that's not going to happen, I guess," he shrugged like a nervous teenager, not looking me in the eye. "Go ahead and open them," he offered.

I bit my lip and released my hand from his. He bought me presents? Seriously, he was the weirdest kidnapper ever.

_Please don't let it be sex toys. _My imagination conjured up the worst case scenario.

I walked over to the bed and grabbed the brown paper bag. I looked inside and gasped. Reaching inside, I could feel the tears coming. Paint brushes, all sizes and shapes. Paints, all different kinds and colors. The second bag had watercolor paper and small oil painting canvases inside. He sat down on the bed, his eyes watching me, watching my reaction.

A loud voice from outside came booming through a bullhorn or some kind of speaker. The unexpected sound made me jump.

"James Duncan. We have the place surrounded. We want you to come out with your hands up."

James didn't seem to even hear what the guy was saying.

"There are some bigger canvases wrapped up with the easel," he explained, nodding towards the big, flat package propped up against the wall that I had earlier worried was some sort of torture device. "I didn't know what kind of painting you wanted to learn, so I kind of got a bunch of different paints. There's some watercolors, some oils, some pastels. The guy at the art store said to just experiment with them and see what you like best."

I couldn't even speak. He had bought me painting supplies, for my "other life". Unbelievable. This man was so completely messed up. He wasn't good but he wasn't pure evil, either. He was mixed up and not well but he wasn't a monster.

"You should take this stuff with you when everything is over. You should learn to paint, if that's what makes you happy. You should do what makes you happy, Iz. You deserve to always be happy."

"James, let Bella come out. Release Bella and then we can talk. We know you don't want to hurt her. You care about her. We all want her to be safe. Let Bella come out and we can figure this all out." The voice from outside boomed again.

I closed my eyes and sat on the bed next to him. He didn't need to die. James shouldn't die. I would not feel better if he was dead, I would feel sad. This wasn't Stockholm Syndrome, this was real, my real feelings. James took me. He held me against my will but there was a man in there somewhere that did the right things sometimes. There was a man in there that couldn't stand to see a woman abused by a man. A man who risked his life so no one would touch me, rape me, kill me. There was a man that went to the art supply store, when he was the most wanted man on the West Coast, because I had told him once that I wanted to be like Rachel Mcwhatever from the Notebook. I was sad. Sad that kidnapping me would be the only thing anyone would ever remember about him. He deserved a shot at redemption. My brain started working in overdrive. Trying to find a way to convince him that things weren't as bad as they seemed. I knew he didn't want to go to jail. He was afraid something was going to happen to him in jail, but maybe he could find his redemption there. Maybe he could help people. He could pay for his sins and then start over. He kidnapped me, he shot people at the warehouse but that was really in self-defense. I would attest to that.

Then I remembered Carlisle. James had shot Carlisle, trying to kill Edward. That was cold-blooded. There was no way around that, he would probably not get out of jail once they added up all of his crimes. God, I prayed Carlisle was still alive. I had blood on my hands after all. I had worked so hard to keep people for paying for the fact that James wouldn't kill me but wouldn't let me go either. Carlisle was out there with a bullet in him. I let my head fall into my hands.

"You hate it," James grumbled.

I looked up at him. "No. I don't hate it." I struggled with what to say. I have never experienced so many emotions in such a short period of time. I felt bipolar. My feelings never stayed the same minute to minute. I tried to play up in his desire to make me happy. "James, please come outside with me. Please give yourself up. That would make me happy."

He laughed again, like he did when he told me about my surprise, cold and hard. "Izzy, you hate me."

"I hate what you've done. I **hate** that you call me Izzy," my emphasis on the second hate made him smile. "I hate a lot of things but I know there's more to you than just the bad things you've done. I know you could be good if you keep trying."

The smile quickly faded and his eyes looked back down at the floor. "I can't be good. I've never been able to pull it off. I've tried. I've really tried. It's why I became a cop. Liam wanted me to be good. But I found a way to be bad even as a one of the good guys. I'm a lost cause."

I put my hand on his, the one that held the gun. He was the calmest I had seen him this entire time. I wasn't afraid at all.

"Give me the gun. Let me walk out of here with you and we'll find a way. I am very stubborn and I love a challenge. You know this about me. That's what you love about me. A lost cause sound like a damn good challenge to me. I'm ready, how about you?"

He pulled his hand away and pointed the gun at me. He ran the barrel of the gun across my chest and pressed the end of it over my heart. My breathing hitched. I went from not afraid at all to more fearful than I'd been throughout this whole ordeal.

"You have no idea how badly I want to take you with me so no one can have you. So CK can't have you. That's how bad I am. I'm rotten and so selfish. You said it yourself. I am nothing but selfish."

"Please," I barely whispered. Maybe he would kill me in the end. I had been counting on the fact that he been so adamant about not hurting me, but maybe he was in a different place now.

He was quiet again. The silence made me more afraid.

"I just want one thing. Then I'll let you go."

I swallowed hard as he kept his gun firmly on my chest.

"What?" I asked, having learned my lesson about promising to do whatever.

"I want one kiss. A real fucking kiss. I want you to forget everything and just pretend," he answered, looking me square in the eye. His eyes clearer than I had ever seen.

"Then you'll let me go? You'll give yourself up?" I asked to be certain.

"I'll let you go."

"And give yourself up?" I reiterated the last part of my question that he clearly left out.

James smiled and placed his other hand on my face. "I'll let you go," he said so sincerely that I couldn't help but believe it to be true.

Our faces were only a few inches apart. He stroked my cheek with his thumb. I could do this if it meant I could go. If it meant I could be with Edward again, I could do anything. I closed my eyes and leaned closer. His lips found mine and I was expecting him to be rough and needy but instead he was soft and tender. He didn't force his tongue in my mouth or bite my lip. He kissed me slowly and innocently. I was so surprised and found myself not hating it as much as I was sure I would. He pulled away and kept his eyes closed.

"Heaven," he said with a heartbreaking smile on his face. One solitary tear ran down his cheek.

My heart was beating rapidly and I wanted to get up, but the gun was still pointed at my chest.

"Give me the gun and let's walk out together. Come on," I said, placing my hand on the one he held on my cheek.

"Goodbye, Bella."

* * *

EPOV

Chaos. I felt like I was surrounded by pure chaos. My father was bleeding in my arms, Bella was pushing James and standing in front of his gun begging him to kill her. Police cars were driving up. A helicopter was hovering overhead. Someone was shouting for us to get down on the ground. I looked up and Bella was being pulled back into the cabin.

"Bella!" I screamed in complete anguish. Was the woman I married completely insane? Did she know how she ripped my heart out when she went away?

"Edward! Jesus, Edward!" Emmett voice broke through the chaos.

My dad was moaning, still alive but there was a lot of blood. My dad had jumped in the way and saved me. James wanted to kill me and my father got in his way. Then Bella ran off to stop James from correcting his mistake. Part of me wanted to run in that fucking cabin and let him have at it. If he wanted to kill me so badly, he should just do it. Stop hurting the people I love.

Emmett and one of the officers started tending to my father. I got up and started walking towards the cabin. I was done with this. Suddenly, there were two big arms wrapped around me.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emmett yelled, tugging me back. Another officer, with a very large rifle, directed us to get behind the police cars.

"I need to get Bella, Emmett! This is so fucked up! He wants me. Let him have me, maybe he'll let her go!"

"Sir, you need to move back behind the cars. I am not telling you again," rifle man said sternly.

"Come on, Edward. The police are here. Let them do their job. They'll get her out." Emmett kept pulling me back until I decided to walk that way on my own.

Two officers were hovering over my dad and one of them was radioing to someone for an ambulance.

I pulled at my hair and dropped to my knees by my dad. He was still conscious. Ever the controlling doctor, he was telling the policemen how to take care of him.

"You think mother is going to be any happier about this?" I asked taking his hand in mine.

He strained to speak, "I should have let you hit him one more time."

"You better stay alive so you can kick my ass for choosing today to start doing what I'm told. You hear me?"

He started to laugh but began coughing and looked in so much pain.

Police officers were moving in all directions. Setting up a barrier around the cabin. They all had their guns out and pointed at the windows and door. Someone was asking questions.

"Is there anyone else in there?"

"Just James and the girl," Liam responded. I forgot he was even here. He looked about as freaked out as I felt. I'm certain when he woke up this morning and took his little kids to get their haircut, this was not how he expected his day to go.

"How many weapons does he have?"

"I only saw the handgun," Liam answered again, "but we've hunted up here before, he could have some shotguns. I didn't really look, to be honest."

"What's his relationship with the hostage?"

"There's no relationship!" I shouted. After listening to her tell James she would stay with him and watching her run off to keep him from losing it, I wanted to shout it from the mountaintops - she was not his, he was nothing to her! I was losing it! Why couldn't she stay out here and keep me from losing it?

"That's not what he meant, Edward." Emmett had his hand on my shoulder.

I jumped up and started getting a little belligerent. "Can you people just go in and get her, please? Why are you standing around out here?"

"Sir, if you can't cooperate and let us do our job, I'm going to have you sit in the back of a patrol car. Do you understand?" the guy who seemed most in charge said, walking over to me.

"What is the relationship?" the first cop asked again.

"Have you not watched the news at all this last week?" I asked in frustration.

Emmett cut in, "They were partners. He was her partner in Chicago, CPD. We don't know why he took her. We think he's infatuated with her."

"So, we believe he cares for her?"

"He was trying hard to convince me that he had rights over her. Saying she's his. He wouldn't let me take her back to Portland," Liam shared.

"Possessive? Hmm," the officers shared a look.

"_Hmm_, what? What does that mean? What do you think he's going to do?" I asked, feeling the tension building all over again in my body.

The guy in charge put his hand on my shoulder. "We're going to do everything we can to get her out safely, sir. Please, try and relax."

_Try and relax? Funny. _

Once everyone got settled in their spots around the cabin, the officer in charge spoke through a speaker in one of the cars, "James Duncan. We have the place surrounded. We want you to come out with your hands up."

There was no movement, no sound coming from the cabin. It was infuriating. More police, more cars were pulling up. It was insane outside but nothing seemed to be going on inside. What was he going to do to her? He had to know he wasn't getting out of this. Would he turn himself over? Would he kill her? Would he kill them both?

"James, let Bella come out. Release Bella and then we can talk. We know you don't want to hurt her. You care about her. We all want her to be safe. Let Bella come out and we can figure this all out," the officer said over the speaker again.

We waited and waited. There was still no movement, no reply. A bunch of officers were talking in a huddle. Strategizing. Lord, couldn't they just go in and get her? This was killing me. The only sound I could hear was the damn helicopter flying around above us. I needed James to demand something, respond, tell the cops to fuck off. Something!

What I didn't want to hear was what came next. A loud bang. One shot. Then nothing. Outside the cabin, the cops went nuts.

"We have shots fired!" the commander guy shouted. "In or out? In or out? Does anyone have a visual?"

All the guns were raised, everyone was shouting, trying to figure out where the shot came from and if it was shot at someone inside or outside. No one seemed to think it was shot at anyone outside. My legs crumbled beneath me. He didn't shoot anyone outside the cabin; he shot someone inside the cabin. This is not how it was supposed to end. I had her, in my arms, just a few minutes ago. I should have killed the son of a bitch when I had the chance. This could have been over but I chose today to use self-restraint. I looked at my hands, my stupid, empty, useless, hands before plunging them into my hair, which I pulled and almost yanked from my head.

The front door opened. All the guns pointed at the door. All off the officers' guns went click, click, click as they readied themselves to shoot James as he emerged. But it wasn't James.

It was Bella.

She stepped out of the cabin with her hand over her mouth, tears falling from her eyes. She fell as she made her way down the little stoop. My first thought was she was hurt, he must have shot her. An officer who was closest to the cabin door got behind her, helped her up, steadied her. He quickly got her behind the police line. Three men went inside when she came out. I pushed and shoved to get over to her. As soon as she saw me, she dropped her hand and ran full force into me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face into my neck. She cried and I held her. Unlike a few minutes before when she did the same exact thing - this cry and this hold were not one filled with happiness and relief. This cry and this hold were filled with complete despair. I chanted _I love you_ over and over as the police officers who ran inside came out.

"All clear! Suspect is dead."

Bella wailed a little louder, held me a little tighter.


	42. Chapter 42 What Happened to Happy?

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. It's been awhile but this one is extra long to make up for the wait. I thought this would be the last chapter before the epilogue but there appears to be a little bit more for these two to work out. At least one more and then the epilogue. I just can't let go!**

BPOV

_When you try your best and you don't succeed  
When you get what you want, but not what you need  
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse  
And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
_Fix You - Coldplay

"_Goodbye Bella," he said with such finality. The fact that he called me Bella and not Izzy or Iz was not lost on me._

_He looked at me with such, love. He moved the gun off my chest and stood up. Taking me by the hand, he pulled me to my feet._

"_Just come out there with me. I'll do everything I can to help you. I promise. Look at me, you can tell I'm not lying. You could always tell. Please. I want you to come with me. I need you to come with me." I was begging. Begging my captor to save himself. _

_He squeezed my hand a little tighter but didn't speak. We walked to the bedroom door and I thought for a moment that maybe he would come with me. He stopped just outside the door, taking one more good look at me. He brushed the back of his hand against my cheek and gave me a little smile. _

"_Please. I want you to come out there with me. Please, James."_

_He dropped his hand and stepped back into the bedroom, pushing the door closed. I grabbed at the doorknob but he locked it before I could open it. _

"_Damn it, James! Please. Please come with me!" I shouted as my anxiety over his well being started to infuriate me. I pushed futilely against the locked door._

_The gunshot was the only reply I received._

I bolted upright in bed. It had been four days. Four days since James killed himself. Four days since I was returned to my family, to Edward. Every night I had the same dream. I replayed this moment over and over, always trying to change the ending, but failing, just like I failed him in real life. The gun going off always woke me. The clock next to the bed read 3:34. I had fallen asleep after midnight. Three hours was a lot, compared to the other nights. Edward was still asleep, sprawled out on his side of the bed. The first night we were reunited, I was happy to be in his arms. I fell asleep on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. I was certain everything was going to be fine. However, when I woke up a few hours later, on my side with his arm draped over me like James had done for over a week, I freaked out. That position, in combination with the dream, put me in some post-traumatic episode. It took Edward a good hour to calm me down. Now Edward makes a conscious effort not to spoon me while we sleep, disentangling himself from me before he falls asleep. I can see that it hurts him. I know all he wants to do is hold me and touch me. It kills me that I'm not strong enough to give him what he wants.

We were staying in Seattle with Emmett and Rose. My mom had flown out the night I was rescued and was here with us. Carlisle had to stay in Portland. He had survived but was injured much worse than I had been when I took a bullet. The bullet James shot at him was lodged near his spine and caused some serious nerve damage. He was still not able to walk and they were not sure he would regain complete use of his left arm and hand. His days as a plastic surgeon were pretty much over. Another bag to add to the collection of guilt I was carrying around with me. They expected him to be able to go back to L.A. before Christmas, which made Esme happy.

I couldn't hold on to _happy_. My emotions, instead, were all over the fucking place. Sometimes I thought I was losing my mind. Everything could have been so different. If I had secured James' weapon after Edward knocked him out. If I had made sure to move Edward, Carlisle, and Liam out of harm's way until the police arrived. If I had thought like a fucking cop for two seconds instead of a stupid kidnapping victim, everything would have been different. James would be alive, Carlisle would be fine, Edward would be able to hold me at night. Then, I might be able to feel happy. Instead, I felt responsible. Responsible for other people's pain.

I got out of bed and walked down the hall to the bathroom to get some water. The house was so quiet, so peaceful. So the opposite of how my mind and body felt. I wondered if I would ever find peace with everything that had happened. I went back to the bedroom and found my spot on the chair in the room. I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep, even though I was tired. I would spend the next few hours watching Edward sleep.

He was so beautiful. While he slept, all the worry lines faded from his face. He was so worried about me. I can only imagine what he went through while I was gone. No one will say, but I know he must have been a wreck. The last couple days, he's been trying so hard to make me feel safe and not to push me about what happened while I was gone. The only time he left my side was when I had to be examined by a doctor at the hospital and talked to by someone by the FBI who was specifically trained to work with victims like me. I know everyone in my family thought I was raped. I could see it in all their eyes when they looked at me. I could hear the unasked question in all their words. I told the doctor, in front of Edward, that I was not raped. I let them do a rape kit anyways, just to prove it, I guess. Maybe they thought I was in denial or something. James didn't do that. I truly believe he could never have done that. Even with my clean bill of health and the doctor's acknowledgement that there was no signs of physical trauma, I think Edward still worried. I didn't help things much by freaking out in the bed the first night. How do you explain to your husband that your kidnapper just wanted to cuddle? That he wanted you to save him from all the bad he had done by showing him just a little affection not by having sex with him? Edward would never understand. I wasn't sure I completely understood.

I settled into the chair, propping my head up with my hand. Edward's hair needed to be cut. It was way too long. It was sticking up in all directions and falling in his eyes all the time when he was awake and upright. He slept like a kid, on his back with his arms over his head. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. He was breathing so deeply it almost sounded like he was snoring. I watched him, wishing I was well enough to climb back in bed and tangle myself up in him. I was grateful for one thing - Edward was alive and well. Everything I had done was ultimately for that purpose. That fact didn't assuage the guilt over the failures everywhere else, but it made life tolerable. He was my everything. So much for all the work I did the last year to make us feel like we were each more than that, more than just here for the other. The whole time I was gone I said his name in my sleep. I dreamed about him when we couldn't be together. I was bound to him tighter than I had ever admitted before. That was ok. It was ok to love him that much, to need him that much. At least, I had to tell myself that. I was in need of some serious counseling. Something I would have to look into when we got back to Chicago. There was some lady with the department that I talked to after I shot Mike, something told me they would be making me talk to her again anyways.

Sometime before six, Edward rolled over and I could see his arm reach over to my side of the bed, searching and not finding what it was looking for. He sat up and looked around.

"Hey, sorry," I whispered. He looked panicked. His head whipped around to find me in the dark.

"Are you ok? Did you have another bad dream?" he asked, crawling out of the bed and kneeling in front of me.

I ran my fingers through his moppy hair and unscrunched my body, placing a leg on either side of him.

"I'm fine. Please don't worry about me."

"Ha!" he laughed loudly and I shushed him. "You might as well ask me to not breathe, to stop my heart beat. You are very funny, Mrs. Cullen. Come back to bed with me."

He stood up and pulled me up with him, only to sit me back down on the bed a second later. I climbed on the bed and we adjusted ourselves so my head rested on his chest. His arms wrapped around me tightly and he kissed the top of my head.

"So what did I miss?" he asked in a whisper.

"I haven't been awake long," I lied. "You were drooling a little and talking in your sleep, something about your mom singing Pretty Little Horses again. I couldn't make it all out," I teased.

He squeezed me tighter, "Liar. I don't drool." He giggled softly and I felt better just hearing the sound.

"Ok, well, you keep telling yourself that but the drooling part is the only truth I told, so..."

"Did you have a bad dream?" he asked, dropping the silliness.

"I had _a_ dream. I'm ok, though."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he whispered hoarsely, like it was hard to make those words come out.

"I'm fine, really. It wasn't like the other night. I promise."

He rubbed his hands on my back and kissed my head again. He didn't ask again, sure I wasn't going to talk about it.

"I want to go this morning, before we meet with the FBI," I said into the semi-darkness. The room had lightened up significantly since I woke.

Today, James' mother was having him buried. Liam had contacted Emmett and let him know. I had asked him to keep me informed. I wanted to go. I wouldn't intrude on the ceremony, I just needed to be there. We were already heading to Portland to meet up with all the FBI people for my final debriefing. We hadn't talked about everything surrounded Aro yet. It was so weird how all the Aro stuff seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I don't know, Bella," he said with a sad sigh. He was not keen on this idea from the moment Emmett told me when it was and I mentioned thinking about going. "Maybe that's not the healthiest thing to do. I mean, what if there's a confrontation with his mom or I don't know, I just think it's a bad idea." His whole body tensed and then became agitated underneath me.

I lifted my head so I could see him. "I'm not going to make myself known. I just want to watch from a distance and then have a moment after everyone is gone."

"Can't we just stop by there on our way out of town? Why do we have to go for the actual ceremony?" he asked with anxious eyes.

"I need to be there. I can't explain it. I just need to be there." That was the only way I could explain it to Edward. I needed to see that James' memory was respected in some way. Again, that nagging guilt over the fact that my inability to save him caused his legacy to be only about the bad things he had done overwhelmed me. I could not explain that to Edward. His hatred for James was something he was not ready to give up and it wasn't fair of me to ask him to.

Edward pressed my head back down on his chest and he ran his hands up and down my back. I could feel him pause over my scar, not very long, but long enough that I knew he was touching it on purpose.

"Whatever you need, baby. We'll do whatever you need," he said, giving in. I knew he wouldn't really fight me. He wasn't in the mindset yet to argue with me. For the last four days, everyone has been kowtowing to me. Whatever Bella wants, Bella gets. Make sure the poor former kidnap victim gets whatever she wants, don't make her upset, she's been through enough. I was only going to be able to handle the kid gloves so much longer. I was glad that this didn't have to become a fight, though.

We ended getting up about an hour later. Rosalie was already up with Lily and had a pot of coffee ready and waiting for the rest of us. Emmett was the next to join us, followed by my mom. She kissed my cheek and awkwardly half hugged me as I sat at the kitchen table and she stood beside me. She had been compulsively hugging me since she got here, needing to touch me to make sure I was real or something. We were going to have a discussion about knocking that shit off real soon.

"What time are you supposed to be in Seattle to meet with the FBI?" Emmett asked, even though I knew he knew exactly when we were supposed to be there. We had talked about it yesterday, several times. He made arrangements so he could be there with me. This was his way of checking to see if I was going to go to James' funeral.

"1:00," I answered, taking a large gulp of coffee. I started imagining them all ganging up on me and trying to talk me out of going to the funeral. If Edward thought someone else disagreed with me going, he might change his mind and fight me on it.

"So we should probably head out at 9:30, 10?" Emmett proposed, watching me for my reaction, wondering if I was going to bring up the funeral.

"Edward and I need to go a little earlier. We're going to head out soon, in about an hour," I replied, glancing up at Edward to see if he looked like he was thinking about backing out on me.

"Are you sure you should go? It's going to be a difficult day to begin with, maybe you shouldn't go," Emmett said, uncomfortably shifting his weight from foot to foot and rubbing his neck with his hand.

Everyone else quickly averted their eyes from me, even Edward was staring intensely at his coffee cup.

"I need to go. I'm going and I'll go by myself if I have to," I said, maybe a little bit more angry sounding than I meant it. I stood up, my eyes focused directly on Edward.

He looked up at me from under his long lashes, as well as through his desperately-in-need-of-a-cut hair.

"I said I would go with you. You aren't going anywhere without me." His voice was rough, he was probably mad that I made it sound like he wasn't indulging me. I knew he saw it that way, he was letting me do what I wanted even though he didn't think it was a good idea.

"Then, I guess we better get ready. I'm going to shower." I set my coffee on the table and looked around to see if anyone else was going to argue with me.

Rosalie and my mom both dared to look my way but wisely kept their mouths closed. Of course, they weren't going to fight me. I had used the magic words, _I need. _Nobody was going to fight me about what I needed. Emmett sighed and nodded.

"I'll go with you guys. No reason to take two cars," Emmett said to Edward as I left the room.

Great, two bodyguards for the poor little kidnap victim. Today was going to be an emotionally draining day. Funeral, FBI questioning, and a visit to Carlisle. I cried in the shower, hoping I could get it all out of my system. The violent waves of emotion were crashing down hard on me already. I couldn't allow myself to fall apart in front of everyone else the rest of the day. If I ever wanted to be treated like a normal person again, I needed to be stronger than this. I needed to hold it together. I was definitely going to need that counseling when we got back to Chicago, I thought as I stood with my face in the water spray, hiding all my stupid tears.

When I returned to the bedroom, Edward was in there with my mom, sitting on the bed. I could hear their hushed whispers as a got to the door but as soon as they saw me they both stopped talking. _Not obvious at all._ My skin was red and blotchy from the heat of the shower and I hoped that it camouflaged my crying spell well enough. Edward and Mom both smiled that _"we so desperately want you to be ok"_ smile. My mom stood up and hugged me - again.

"I'll let you get ready," she said before looking back at Edward and giving him a wink. I was glad they had each other but I couldn't help feeling like a child when they were together. Maybe that was how Edward felt when Emmett and I were trying to figure everything out and protect him from the bad news. I would never do that to him again; it feels like shit to be on the receiving end of that kind of treatment.

"Do you want anyone else to come today, for moral support or whatever?" Edward asked as I slipped some panties on under my towel. I don't know why I felt so modest, but I couldn't bring myself to be naked in front of him yet. He was asking for my mother, who obviously didn't want to intrude but wanted to be there for me. She was such a chicken.

"I don't need everybody to come along. It's going to be fine. Talking to the FBI is going to be nothing. Then we'll see your dad and come home. I don't think I need moral support for that," I said dismissively even though I knew it was going to be a lot harder than that.

He noticed my omission. "What about the funeral? Maybe you could use a few more supporters."

With my back to him so he couldn't see, I rolled my eyes. More babying. Everyone was expecting me to be a basketcase, which maybe I was, but I hated that I couldn't fool any of them.

"Aren't you up for the challenge?" I looked back at him on the bed. He pulled on his hair.

"I'm totally up for the challenge, I just want to make sure I'm what you need." His voice was soft and he looked down at the comforter, tracing the patterns with his fingertip.

"You are the only thing I need," I answered back. I meant it, too. I was a mess. One part of me wanted to have everything go back to normal and have everyone treat me like they did before. The other part of me just wanted to run away with Edward, far away. Never come back to reality. Get lost in him, just him. Then I could forget. More importantly, I would never let him down. Everything would be about us. We could forget the world together.

He stood up from the bed and kissed my still flushed shoulder. "I'll go get showered and then we can go."

If only he meant we could run away. Maybe then I would feel like I wasn't tearing myself in two. I really needed some counseling.

* * *

EPOV

_The worst is over now and we can breathe again  
I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away  
There's so much left to learn and no one left to fight  
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away  
_Broken - Seether

Is it possible to live in a constant state of happiness and fear at the same time? If so, how long can you do that for before you have a mental breakdown? I wonder this from time to time because that's how I had been living the last four days. Happy because I had my wife with me. Happy that I could hold her and talk to her, care for her. Fearful because I wasn't sure what was going on with her. She looked the same. She sounded the same. Most of the time. However, something was different. Something she didn't want to tell me. Something she wasn't ready to share with me. It was terrifying.

I didn't ask her what he did to her over the eight days she was gone. I knew that when she was ready to tell me, she would. At least, I hoped she would. Of course, Bella would not want to tell me things that would hurt me. This became the greatest source of my fear. What if he did something to her and she would never tell because she was afraid of what it would do to me to know? Bella was quick to tell the doctors and anyone else who would listen that James did not do anything sexual with her. The doctor did a rape kit to be sure and said there was no evidence of rape. I wanted to feel relieved. I wanted to let go of all the horrible images I had in my head. There was still this troubling feeling - he could have done other things to her, other than straight up sex. She had these horrific bruises on his wrists from where he handcuffed her. It made me feel sick to even look at them. There were plenty of things he could do to a handcuffed woman. I tried not to think about it, but that first night, after we fell asleep in each other's arms, she woke up freaking the fuck out.

Bella does not freak out. Ever.

Bella has cried in front of me but she has never freaked out. Hysterical crying, blubbering, wailing, shouting out things that didn't make sense. Unable to calm herself, unable to be soothed by anything I said or did. In fact, I kept feeling like everything I did was making it worse. It took me an hour to calm her down. Mostly, what I said made her cry harder, touching her made her shake harder. I couldn't figure it out. It scared the living shit out of me.

Four days later and she was still waking up in the middle of the night. I never knew what time she woke; she wouldn't tell me. She was always out of bed when I woke, though. Today she was in the chair next to the bed, watching me, I think. I couldn't hold her at night anymore. She thought maybe that was what set her off the first night. She explained that James made her sleep in the same bed as him and handcuffed her to him. Fucking bastard. I would never forgive myself for not beating his head in when I had the chance. He took the cowardly way out, shooting himself. Bastard. Somehow, I knew that this bothered Bella more than anything.

Now we had to go to his funeral. I've never wanted to spit on someone's grave, but I would feel no guilt spitting on his. I knew that would bother Bella, so I wouldn't do it. James had damned himself. He was being torched somewhere in the depths of hell and that would have to be my only solace. It wasn't Bella's, however. The doctors at the hospital talked about how Bella might struggle with some mixed up feelings. She was probably feeling anger and sadness. They said her captivity would have long term psychological effects. The bruises would heal, her physical health would improve with regular meals, sleep, and exercise. Her mind, though, would take much longer. How much longer, no one knew. She and James had been through an intense experience together. Even though he was the bad guy in all this, she would probably have some warm feelings towards him as well. He had rescued us from Aro. He cooked for her, he bought her things, he tried to get her to fall in love with him. How could she not be fucked up from all of that? This only added to my fear.

I sat in the backseat of Emmett's Infiniti, letting Bella ride shotgun so I could look at her the whole drive without it seeming creepy and obsessive. Not easy for me these days. The almost three hour drive was boring as hell. I tried to lighten the mood by cracking some jokes, making fun of Emmett's driving, and singing along with the songs on the radio. Bella looked back at me several times with a smile on her face and that was all I needed.

"Hey, Em, remember this one? How many lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb?"

My brother eyed me in the rearview mirror. "How many can you afford?" he answered grinning wickedly.

I laughed. That was one of the possible answers. "I like that one, but I tend to go with three. One to turn the bulb, one to shake him off the ladder, and the third to sue the ladder company."

"Lame," Bella smirked, looking over her shoulder at me.

"Ouch!" I winced. "How about this one sweetheart, what's wrong with lawyer jokes?"

"They aren't that funny?" she answered, raising her eyebrows and smugly smiling at me, making me want to grab her and pull her in the backseat with me so I could do bad, bad things to her that would feel oh so good.

"Close. Lawyers don't think they're funny and nobody else thinks they're jokes."

She turned back to face the front. I saw her shoulders shake slightly, she was laughing up there, even though I couldn't see her face.

"I'm surprised you never learned any cop jokes when you met Bella," Emmett said, looking at me through the mirror again.

"Bella gets more rattled by girl jokes than cop jokes."

"Ain't that the truth," Bella sighed.

"Come on, you must know one cop joke," Emmett pressed.

"Actually, I have the perfect one for today since you're meeting with the FBI. I learned this one back in L.A. The LAPD, the FBI, and the CIA were trying to prove that they were the best at apprehending criminals. The President decided to give them a test. He released a rabbit into a forest and each of them had to catch it. The CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of investigating they conclude that rabbits don't exist. The FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming. The LAPD goes last. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling, 'Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a fucking rabbit!'"

Emmett chuckled loudly. Smacking his hand on the steering wheel. Bella looked back at me with a big smile. _ Hey, look at me. I'm the light._ I'm doing my job perfectly today. Hopefully, I can keep this shit up.

As we got closer to Portland, the car got quieter and I could feel Bella's mood shifting. Emmett's GPS was the only sound the last few miles. _In .6 miles turn right on Main Street. _The female robot voice was starting to irritate me. We pulled up to the cemetery just as it began to drizzle. _Great._ The funeral should have been starting. There were a couple cars parked along the road leading into the cemetery. Up ahead we could see a very small group of people standing around a fresh gravesite. Bella pulled her hair up in a ponytail and opened hr car door. I jumped out snatching an umbrella from the back of Emmett's car.

"Wait for me," I called after her.

"Should I come?" Emmett asked, unsure of his place at this thing.

"Just stay in the car," I said before chasing after Bella. I opened the umbrella and held it over her head.

We hung back by some trees, near the funeral but a safe distance away. There was a man and a woman on either side of the grave, a priest at the head, and then I recognized Liam and Maggie along with some other older woman standing on the side with the woman. Liam was holding a large black umbrella over himself, his wife, and the one woman. The blond woman, who I assumed was James' mother, stood in the rain. The man on the other side, who was maybe his father also stood in the rain. The priest said a few prayers. Then James' mother placed some flowers on his casket, as did Maggie. They lowered him into the ground and it was all over in a matter of minutes. If I didn't despise him, I would have felt bad that this was all he got. Since I did despise him, this was more than he deserved. Nobody should mourn his ass.

I saw Bella wipe her face and when I turned to look at her she was quick to say, "The rain is hitting my face."

I apologized and adjusted the umbrella even though I didn't think it was rain, but I wasn't going to call her out on it.

Liam and the two women with him hugged James' mother, as the man walked away without a word to any of them. James' mother then turned to talk to the priest. Liam spotted us and started coming our way. Emmett was suddenly at my side.

"I couldn't stay in the car. Just in case," he mumbled in my ear. I didn't know what he thought was going to happen.

Bella was standing stiff as a board at my side. I had one arm wrapped around her while she had her arm folded tightly in front of her.

"I didn't know if you were going to come," Liam said as he approached. "Not a very nice day for an outdoor service." He seemed nervous. Maggie came up behind him and looked like she had been crying the whole ten minute funeral service.

"I wish we could meet under better circumstances, you know. I don't hope to go to many more funerals," Maggie said, wrapping her arms around one of Liam's.

"It's nice to see you Maggie, even given the not so nice circumstances. I see the other Mrs. Cummins is here as well," Emmett said. I forgot that he had met all the Cummins at Riley's funeral. So the other woman was Liam's mother. Mrs. Cummins came up behind Maggie and Liam, holding onto the giant umbrella.

"Mom, you remember Emmett Cullen?" Liam said turning to his mom.

"Emmett. Yes. How could I forget?"

"This is Edward and Bella Cullen. Emmett's brother and sister-in-law."

"I recognize you from the TV. They must have had your picture on the news twenty times a day. You and," she stopped herself from saying his name. Instead she looked back at the grave. She pulled out some tissues from her purse and dabbed her eyes.

It boggled my mind that anyone cared about this asshole. I wanted to start shouting. Did you all forget that he kidnapped my wife? Shot my dad? He was a bad guy!

"You guys are the reason he wasn't just a bad guy," Bella shakily responded to my unheard thought. "He felt bad that he couldn't live up to the kindness you showed him. He tried to be good because he knew that you wanted him to be good. You meant so much to him Liam, Mrs. Cummins."

I shot Emmett a _where the fuck did that come from_ look and he gave me one right back.

"Thank you," Liam said, looking a little shocked that she spoke, for one, and two, that she had anything nice to say. "Coming from you, of all people, I feel like I have to believe it."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him. I tried. I didn't want it to end like this. He locked the door and I couldn't get in. I wish I had gotten the gun, earlier when he was knocked out. I should have, if I had been thinking clearly. I'm sorry," Bella rambled.

My heart stopped. She was apologizing? She was apologizing to these people? They looked as confused and uncomfortable as I was. No one seemed to know how to respond to the craziness spewing from my poor, broken wife. Emmett and I shared another _what the fuck_ look. We needed to leave. This whole thing was making her more sympathetic towards the lowlife that tried to ruin our lives.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing," I whispered into her ear, as I pulled her body closer to mine.

"Oh dear, Bella," Mrs. Cummins began. "James made his choice. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Liam jumped in, "Nothing, if anyone should apologize it should be me. The fact that I was going to leave you with him makes me sick. You are the bravest woman I have ever met, and I'm married to one fine woman." He looked over at Maggie who looked like she was going to start crying again any second. "You were willing to stay with him when he threatened me. Even though you had no reason to care what he did to me. I should have taken the gun from him. I should have stopped him. It was all so surreal. I've known the man practically my whole life and even I never thought it would end this way. You are not responsible for James' selfish behavior. You're not."

Bella bit her bottom lip and nodded. I couldn't tell if she believed him or not. That was what she had been keeping from me. She felt responsible. She thought it was her fault that this ended the way it did. The girl is such a control freak she takes the blame for things that are not possibly in her control.

We exchanged a few more pleasantries and then said our goodbyes. While Liam and his mother walked away, Maggie ran back to give Bella a long hug then turned to me.

"Glad you found her."

"Thanks to you," I whispered. If it weren't for my cigarette break and Maggie's suggestion to follow Liam we might not have found them until it was too late. Maggie nodded.

"My husband is a good man. He's loyal to a fault. He loved James like a brother. It wasn't an issue of not wanting to help you and your family. It was wanting to believe the best about someone that you so desperately wanted to be something he couldn't be. Bella was right. Liam wanted James to be good. He wanted it so badly, he convinced himself that James would never do anything so terrible. He was wrong and it hurts him deeply."

I nodded, unable to think of anything to say in response. Maggie was a good person. Something told me she and I were both going to be dealing with the same thing - both of our spouses felt this strange guilt over not being able to save James from himself. Maggie gave me a hug and quickly rejoined her family.

"I need a minute alone," Bella announced, looking straight ahead at the grave. The priest and James' mother were now long gone. There were some men sitting in a truck with the name of the cemetery written on the side waiting to finish things off here. She stepped out from under the umbrella and walked towards the hole in the ground. I didn't move, knowing she needed to do this by herself but desperately wanting to be with her at the same time.

Emmett and I watched her stand there. It wasn't raining hard but her coat was getting nice and damp. Then she squatted and closed her eyes. I could see her lips moving. She was talking to him. Hopefully telling him to fuck off and enjoy hell but something told me my guilt-ridden wife was not saying that. I prayed she wasn't apologizing to him. Apologizing to the Cummins was enough. More than enough. She wiped her face with her hands and stood back up. She didn't come back to me and Emmett, instead she walked straight to the car.

We got some lunch before heading to the FBI office. Bella was not very talkative. Her meeting with the FBI went longer than I thought it would. Of course, that could be because I had to sit in the fucking lobby area while Emmett took her in to meet with the agents. I paced around a little, tried to read a magazine, checked my phone for any messages, called Renee, stared out the window and watched the rain, called Renee again. I tried not think about Bella apologizing for not being able to stop James from killing himself. I tried not to think about her crying next to his grave. I talked about it with Renee. She reminded me what the doctor said. I knew she had some mixed up feelings. I wanted to believe that she wasn't that mixed up, though. Renee suggested we talk to Bella about getting some professional help when we got back to Chicago. That was a definite. I wasn't going to be able to help her on my own, I knew that. I wanted to spit on James' grave. That would not have helped Bella today.

Finally about two hours after they went in, Bella and Emmett emerged from wherever they had been tortured back there. Bella looked tired and wired at the same time. She excused herself to use the bathroom before we left for the hospital.

"Everything go all right, Em?"

"She drank way too much coffee. It started making her a little jittery. She did fine, though. Answered all their questions the best she could. All I can say, little brother, is that woman loves you. She really, really loves you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Everything she did, every choice she made, was to keep you alive. All she wanted out of this whole thing was for you to be all right. It was her single objective. She would have endured anything. Hell, she endured plenty. All for you." He looked worried. Did _she endured plenty_ mean there was more she went through than I'm aware of? This was supposed to be all about Aro. Did things happen in the warehouse when I was knocked out? I wanted to ask him more questions but Bella was walking towards us. I gave her a hug and kissed her forehead. Everything she did, she did for me. Now who felt guilty?

We drove to OHSU Hospital and took the elevator up to my father's floor. He was sitting in his hospital bed while Mother flitted around watering the abundance of flowers and plants that had been sent over the last few days.

"Edward! Bella! Emmett!" she squealed as we walked in. She hurriedly hugged each one of us. "Look who's here, Carlisle."

"I got shot in the back, Esme, not the head. I can see them."

Dad was a good doctor, not a great patient.

"Dad, looking good. Hospital pale yellow is definitely your color, will they let you keep these sweet gowns when you leave?" Emmett teased, patting him on the leg.

"You're very funny, son," he responded with narrowed eyes. My father did not seem to be in the joking mood. Not even with Emmett, which meant I should play it straight, for sure.

I kissed Bella's hand that I was holding tightly, a promise that I would return to hold it sooner than later. I moved to the other side of my father's bed. "You do look better than the last time we saw you, Dad. Are they treating you all right?"

"They seem to have quality doctors here. The nurses leave something to be desired," he complained.

"Carlisle," Mom scolded. "If you weren't so bossy and incorrigible, the nurses would be much nicer to you. They have all been wonderful. Everyone has been taking excellent care of your father, even if _he_ has been somewhat of a difficult patient."

"I'm not difficult! I just know what they should and should not be doing. I'm a doctor for heaven's sake. You would think that would encourage them to step it up a notch. Maybe they can get away with forgetting to check the catheter they stick in a lay person but a doctor knows that they need to make sure -"

"Carlisle! Enough!" Mother snapped at him. "The children are here to visit not to listen to this silliness."

Emmett and I shared that _what is wrong with the world_ look again. We were doing that a lot today. Mom and Dad did not fight. It was just not something they did.

"I'm sorry I didn't secure the weapon," Bella said just over a whisper. We all looked at her in disbelief. "I should have taken the gun from him when Edward knocked him out. I should have been thinking more clearly. Not to mention, I should have cleared the area. Got you all to safety. If I had moved you somewhere safe, he wouldn't have been able to get that shot off. I'm so sorry." Bella's voice was small and filled with so much guilt and shame it made my heart ache. The whole room fell silent. No one knew what to say.

"Bella," my dad mumbled, stunned.

She continued, speaking a little faster, a little more desperate, "If I could go back and take the bullet myself, I would. It was my responsibility to keep Edward safe. He wanted to kill him because of me. It would have served him right to shoot me instead. Then, maybe then, he would have felt bad about it. I'm sorry, Carlisle."

I wanted to grab her and shake her. How could she think this was all her fault? She wanted to take the bullet because it was her responsibility to protect me? This would have been a million times worse if she were shot. I could never live with another image of a bleeding Bella in my arms. She was unbelievable. I was cemented in my spot, unable to move towards her. Unable to comfort her.

My mother put a kind hand on Bella's shoulder, doing what I could not.

"Bella," Mother said with an understanding smile. "You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart. We are all so glad that you are safe and back with Edward, where you belong. You have been through so much, sweet girl. So much. Please don't put yourself through any more."

Dad cleared his throat. "If you think I'm going to let you try and steal my hero status from me, you're sorely mistaken. I'm the one who stopped Edward from pounding the life out of that man. It was my bullet to take, Bella. Not yours. Please don't blame yourself, not for what happened to me, Bella."

Bella nodded like she did when the Cummins told her the same thing, big tears trailing down her cheeks. My mother wrapped her arm around her and I cursed myself for not being able to move myself over to her.

"Why doesn't Bella come with me, I need to get something out of the car. Come on, darling. I want to hear how my little Lily is doing without her grandmother."

My mother took Bella by the hand and tugged her towards the door. Bella looked over at me and I gave her a cockeyed smile, letting her know it was ok to go. Once they were out of the room, I think the three of us took a collective breath.

"Oh, Edward. I had no idea she was struggling with all of that," Dad said solemnly.

"She did the same thing when we went to funeral this morning. Told Liam Cummins she was sorry she didn't stop James from killing himself," Emmett said, pulling up a chair next to Dad's bed and taking a seat.

"You took her to that man's funeral?" Dad looked at me accusingly.

"What? She wanted to go! There was not any stopping her, she would have gone by herself if we hadn't taken her," I defended.

"You need to get her to a professional. She needs to talk to someone, soon. That poor girl," Dad shook his head.

"Renee said the same thing when I told her about the first unnecessary apology."

"Well, Renee and I might not agree on much, but I'm glad we see eye to eye on this. You better make sure it happens."

My father seemed angry with me. Like somehow I made her this way and I better take care of it. Did anyone blame James for all this or was it just me? I ran my hand through my hair and turned my back on my dad and brother. I looked out the window as the rain kept falling. I hate this part of the country. I hate the rain and the clouds. I hate that this is where James was from and this is where he took Bella. This is where he was going to force her to have a life with him. I never want to come back to Portland ever again.

"Edward," my dad called to me. I turned around and saw the worry in his eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's fine, Dad, really. I mean it's really my fault that you're lying in that bed. I mean, why I chose to listen to you when I had James right where I wanted him. I could have beat his fucking head in and then she wouldn't feel responsible."

"Son, taking a life is not as easy as you think it is."

"I've taken a life, Dad. I shot a guy. I shot a guy in that warehouse. I killed him when he was going to shoot James. I'm a fucking idiot. There was another time I could have saved myself all this trouble."

"I didn't want you to have to live with those images in your head. I know you think you could handle it, but eventually it would haunt you. Just like shooting that man is going to bother you at some point. I'm glad you listened to me even though it ended like this," he said lifting his right hand and waving it over his body. "I made plenty of choices that day. All the choices I made ended with me where I am today. I take full responsibility and I don't blame Bella and I certainly don't blame you."

I could understand now why Bella couldn't speak after they told her not to blame herself. My throat tightened up on me and all I could do was nod. My dad didn't blame me. Amazing but true.

Bella and my mom came back. We visited for about an hour. With a three hour drive back to Seattle, we didn't stay much longer. We offered to take my mother out to dinner but she politely refused, preferring to stay with Dad. He was going to be released in a few days and Emmett promised to come back and help get them back home to L.A.

The drive back was quieter than the way there. I convinced Bella to sit in the back with me, so I could not only look at her but hold her as well. Today had been a strange day filled with lots of apologies and revelations. I hoped Bella realized that she did not need to be forgiven for all the things that happened. That she was not responsible for any of it, but something in her silence told me she had not relinquished it all yet.

We pulled up to Emmett's a little bit before eight. Rosalie had ordered pizza because that was what Bella said she wanted. We all ate and talked about everything other than what went on today. By ten, Bella was ready for bed. I waited in the bed for her, while she finished up in the bathroom. I worried about what the day had done to her and if she was going to be able to sleep tonight. I had this sinking feeling I was going to wake up and find her out of bed once again.

Bella came into the room and shut the door behind her. She climbed into bed and I shut off the bedside lamp. I didn't know if she was going to talk to me about what happened today or not. I wasn't sure if I should start things out by telling her one more time that she was not at fault in any of this. She had been so quiet all evening. Maybe I should let her start. I wondered what my mother said to her when they were alone. I wished I knew what she whispered to James. I wanted to ask her so many things but I didn't want to make her talk about things that would only make her feel worse. My head was spinning when all of the sudden, Bella's hands were on me. Not just on me, but groping me. She pushed herself closer to me and I could feel she had no shirt on. When the hell did she take off her shirt? She reached her hand, almost aggressively, down my pants. I was in such shock, I didn't know what to do. Her other hand pushed my shirt up and she began kissing my chest. Slowly, she moved up to my neck. Her breast pressing on my chest as she kissed my mouth.

"Bella," I whispered when she pulled away and began nibbling on my earlobe. Her soft, little hand was still assaulting my groin. As much as I wanted to be with Bella this way, right now did not seem like the right time. Too much had happened today.

"I need you, Edward," she whispered in my ear as her mouth found its way back to mine. She kissed me roughly, pressing hard and pushing her tongue in my mouth. Everything about this was wrong and I had to stop it. Even if she said she needed it.

"Bella, stop."

"You don't want to stop," she said, squeezing the part of me that definitely did not want to stop.

"Honey," I moaned, fumbling to sit up a little so I could switch the light back on.

She let go of me but quickly straddled me and pressed herself down hard on my one track mind cock. She grabbed my hands and put them on her naked breast.

"I need you, Edward. I need you so much. I want to show you how much I need you. How I'll never leave you again. I promise."

I pulled a hand away and reached for the light.

"You want to see? I'm all yours. You can see me whenever you want."

Something was so very wrong. She was doing this for all the wrong reasons, I didn't know what her reasons were but something told me they were wrong. I put my hands on her waist and lifted her up and off of me. I sat up and took her hands in mine.

"Bella, baby, what's the matter? Can you talk to me?"

She looked slightly shocked that I was stopping this.

"Can't a woman want to make love to her husband? Can't I want to please you?"

"Please me? Honey, you don't have to please me."

"Your mom told me. She told me how broken you were when I was missing."

My mother. Well, that answers one of my questions. Why would my mother think it was a good idea to tell Bella what a disaster I was?

"Bella, I had a couple bad days," I tried to downplay it.

"She told me you didn't eat or sleep or talk. She was so afraid that if they didn't find me she would lose you, too. So, I want you to know I'm never leaving again. Ever. You never have to worry about being like that again," she tried to pull her hands away and climb back on top of me. "I'm yours and only yours. I promise I will not let you down. I will not hurt you like that again."

Oh man. Now she was taking responsibility for my breakdown. What the fuck did James do to her? Why is she blaming herself for everything? I pushed her back again and held her by her bare shoulders.

"Baby, what did he do to you?" I asked as she looked at me with her big, brown eyes. She looked at me like she was a child in trouble with her parent.

"He didn't rape me, Edward! I swear! I wouldn't have let him!" She looked panicked. I tried to take her hand again and comfort her but her eyes shot right to her wrists and the ugly marks left behind. She wrapped her hands around them. Trying to block both of them from view. She slid across the bed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "You don't want me," she quietly whimpered.

"No, Bella. That's not it." I scrambled to get closer to her. She was misunderstanding me. "I love you. I want you all the time. I just think that we need to talk about how you're feeling before we jump into things. I don't want you to think you need to please me so I don't go off the deep end."

She began rocking back and forth a little. She hid her face from me, pressing her forehead against her knees and letting her hair fall around her.

"You can tell he kissed me, can't you? He kissed me when I was trying to get the gun. I was trying to trick him and he got angry and threw me down. Then he made me kiss him before he let me go." Her eyes shot up to meet mine. "I didn't want to. I didn't want to kiss him. I love you. Everything I did, I did it to save you and to get back to you. I dreamed about you every night. Even when he was holding me, I wanted it to be you." She began to cry and dropped her head again.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry," I said, stroking her hair gently.

Surprisingly, she shoved my hand away. "Don't touch me!" she shouted angrily. "I get it, I'm damaged and you don't want me anymore!"

"No!" I screamed back trying to hold her, trying to do something that would make this better. She fought me, though, pushing me away and climbing out of the bed.

"Get out of here! Go away! Leave me alone!" she yelled in a rage. "I don't want you to touch me because you feel sorry for me!"

My heart felt like it was cracking wide open. "Bella, I love you. I didn't mean to make you feel unwanted. Baby, I -"

"Leave! Get out!" she screamed, back away from me.

There was a knock at the door.

"Edward?" Emmett called from the other side. "Can we come in?"

"Go!" Bella shouted at me, her face red and tears falling fast. She backed herself into a corner and slid down the wall, wrapping herself up in a ball on the floor.

Emmett, Rosalie, and Renee walked in the room. They looked at me then down at her on the ground. She was sobbing and the sound was heart wrenching.

"I -" I couldn't speak. I didn't even know how to explain what they were seeing. I didn't even know what happened except that my world was falling apart. James was dead and he was still able to ruin things for me and Bella.

"Come on," Emmett said, motioning for me to follow him out of the room.

Rosalie moved further into the room and stood at my side, looking down at Bella.

"Go, I'll take care of her," Rosalie stated firmly. She looked at me and waited for me to look back, but I couldn't take my eyes off the crying woman at our feet. The woman who hates crying, hates not being strong. She has freaked out twice since her return. This was not my Bella and I was at a complete loss for how to get mine back. I wanted to cry right along with her. Rosalie put her hand on my shoulder and softened her voice, "Go, Edward. Let me handle this."

Renee grabbed my hand and pulled me from the room. Rosalie closed the door after me. I felt like I was in a dream, a nightmare was more like it. My hands pulled at my hair as I paced around the family room.

"What happened?" Emmett asked, sitting on the couch.

"I don't know. I really don't know," I mumbled.

I stopped pacing and looked at the two of them. They both looked at me like I was supposed to know what to do, like I should know how to help her. I had no answers. I felt like I was going to be sick. I marched out of the room, grabbed my jacket, slid on some shoes by the front door, and headed out into the cold night. I didn't have a destination in mind, I only knew that I couldn't stay in that house with Bella curled up in a ball on the floor of our bedroom, crying because I made her feel like she was damaged. Like I found her undesirable because James kissed her. Ah, James kissed her. That fucking bastard. I should have just made love to her. She said she needed me and I didn't listen. So much for feeling happy, fear was taking over, big time. I never imagined that I'd be so afraid of losing her after we found her. I pulled my jacket around me a little tighter as I turned the corner to go around the block, hoping the fresh air would clear my dizzy head.

**A/N: I don't know who's sadder Bella or Edward. Hit review, I've been in bed for two days with a 102 fever. I need the boost!!**


	43. Chapter 43 Set on the Right Path

**A/N: I don't own Twilight. Last chapter people. I'd love to think of more drama for these two but that doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do. These two deserve a normal, happy life together. More at the end. Enjoy! **

BPOV

Coming back to planet Earth after a visit to Crazy Town is not always easy. It had been a long night and I wasn't sure how long I slept, but I knew I had drifted in and out of consciousness a few times. I was on my stomach and I couldn't find the desire to open my eyes, which felt like they were sealed shut anyways. My mouth was dry causing my dragon's breath to have real potential at being fatal if smelled full on. My head ached, my throat was in desperate need of some water, and I felt anything but rested. The bed was warm and the thought of starting another day was not very enticing, so I wasn't quick to get up. From the side of the bed came a soft noise. I heard patting and a tiny, little baby burp a moment later.

"Good girl," Rosalie whispered.

_Rosalie?_

I forced my eyes open and saw Rosalie and Lily sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"Well, look who's awake. Auntie Bella is awake," Rosalie said in a quietly cheerful voice to the sweet little girl on her lap. Lily giggled, but of course Rosalie could read legal briefs in that voice and Lily would think it was the best thing she's heard in her life.

I tried to sit up, my body felt so heavy, each limb like dead weight. _What the hell happened last night?_ I looked around the small guest room. No Edward.

"Where's Edward?" I asked with a thick tongue.

"He's asleep on the couch. At least that was where he was when I got Lily a little bit ago."

"He slept on the couch?" I held my head in my hands, trying to remember what happened that would make Edward leave our bed. After everything we've been through, I couldn't believe he wouldn't sleep with me. Flashes of the night before started escaping from the dark corners of my brain. I groaned at the memories. I practically tried to rape him last night in some idiotic attempt to prove to him that I would never leave him again. Then I did it again - I freaked out. Really freaked out. Told him to leave and get away from me. _Oh, how could I do that to him? After everything he's been through!_

Rosalie interrupted my internal self-loathing, "I'm going to pass this very full girl off to her slumbering father and then I'll be back to talk to you. Looks like we have a few things to figure out."

I nodded and ran my hands through the horrible mess that was my bed head this morning. It was worse than it's ever been; it was like it had been struck by a mini tornado while I slept.

I looked myself over. I had my pajamas on, something I remembered taking off before I attempted rape but not something I remembered putting back on. I looked at my wrists. My bruised up, cut up wrists. I thought he looked at them last night like they were a sign of my tainting. James didn't taint me though. Ugh, but I told Edward about the kissing. I'm sure it made no sense the way it came out. I don't remember what I said exactly just that I felt like I had to confess and swear up and down that it meant nothing. He knew it meant nothing, didn't he? He didn't come back in the room last night, however. Maybe he couldn't be around me and that's why Rosalie was here. Rosalie, the golden haired angel. That is what she had seemed like last night. I can remember her trying to calm me with her soft words, her soft touch.

Rosalie walked back into the room and closed the door behind her. She was holding a glass of water and held it out for me.

"Thanks," I responded, putting the glass to my lips greedily and drinking almost all of it before taking a breath.

"You had a pretty rough night, Bells."

I nodded and took one last swig of the refreshing water.

"Do you remember what happened?" Rose looked at me like I was a potentially hostile witness on the stand, someone she had to handle with care.

"Some of it. It's kind of fuzzy."

Rose pursed her lips and sat on the bed next to me.

"You pretty much freaked the hell out, worse than the first night you were back."

I rubbed my face with my hand. "I remember. I remember yelling at Edward, telling him to get out of here. Is he ok? I was so terrible. My plan was to take care of him, to repair the damage I-"

"Bella, could you give that shit a rest for like five seconds?" Rosalie said, looking very tired and a tad bit frustrated. "Everyone is fine! You did it. You saved everyone. Nobody needs you to take care of them anymore or to save them from anything. The only person you need to take care of is _you_. You can start by not blaming yourself for every single, flipping thing that happened."

I looked at her, trying to make sense of her frustration with me.

"Who else besides me is to blame for making Edward miserable? I left him. Esme told me yesterday how destroyed he was. How she was afraid he was never going to be ok. I see how worried he is still. I can tell I've hurt him so much. Then I turn around and hurt him again when all he's done is be so understanding."

Rosalie seemed to be trying very hard not to say what was dying to come out of her mouth. I could almost see the words battling to get past her hard pressed lips. She took a deep breath through her nose and then dared to open her mouth.

"Everyone has been trying to be very patient with you. We all agreed not to push you but, jeez, you make it so hard! You said a lot of shit last night during your delirium and I let it go. I went for quiet comfort but you are not delirious anymore!" Her voice was barely restrained. She inhaled one more time and kept her tone more under control when she spoke again. "I can name a few other people that are to blame for this mess, but let's go with the most obvious choice, shall we? Is it possible that James is to blame for Edward's pain, not you?"

I shook my head, "I made the deal, Rose. He offered me a deal and I chose the one that took me away from Edward. I could have chose to try to save Edward without James' help and then I wouldn't have been bound to go with him."

"Could you have gotten Edward out without James?" Rosalie challenged.

I bit my lip knowing that there was no way in hell we would have ever gotten away without James' help. Aro and his men would have killed us both after they slowly tortured us.

"No," I answered, staring down at my hands in my lap.

"No. You'd both be dead. You made the choice that kept you both alive because that's what Bella does, she thinks things through and she makes the right choice, even if it is the tough one. You kept everyone alive and safe, Bells. You did."

She was wrong. It's not something Rosalie was very often, but this time she was wrong. My mistakes had cost others.

"But Carlisle, James," I argued. I said the second name knowing she wasn't going to give a shit about what happened to him but meaning it just as much as the first.

"Carlisle? James?" Rose was almost livid, her eyes wide. "Carlisle chose to jump in front of the bullet to save his son. Now he has to retire. Big whoop. Esme has been trying to get him slow down for a couple years now. He's alive. He's going to be able to walk eventually and, for the most part, is going to live a normal life. It could have been a lot worse. James," she exhaled sharply. "James was a criminal. He was a criminal before he met you. He kidnapped you and forced you to stay with him. He got caught and instead of being a man and facing his crime, he took his life. He was a coward. He was a complete and utter coward, Bells. You didn't make him a coward. If you had fallen madly in love with him, he still would have been a coward. He didn't want to go to jail. It's. Not. Your. Fault."

My head dropped into my hands. I heard what she was saying. It all made sense. I wanted it to lighten my guilt. I wanted her words to heal my heart.

"Here's what's been killing me ever since you were rescued, what did you think was going to happen? I mean, you had to have played it out in your head. Did you really think it was going to end any better than it did? Because to be totally honest, I did not think we were going to find you alive, Bells. I thought he would kill you and himself before he'd get taken down. On my more optimistic days, I thought for sure he would at least do things to you. Maybe we'd find you alive, but you would be emotionally destroyed. I was sure he had his way with you more times than I could imagine and you were never going to be right. Those were the only two ways I saw this thing playing out. But for some reason he didn't do either. For some reason he showed some self control. The way this all ended, is a million times better than I thought it was going to end," Rosalie said, unable to hide her emotion.

How did I think this was all going to end? I thought it was going to end with either me killing James or him killing me. That's what I thought the whole drive to Oregon. I spent the whole week thinking about ways to kill him. I was prepared to kill him. Why was I so messed up over the fact that he killed himself? He bought me paints. He bought me paints and I wanted to save him because of it. I hated him but he really loved me in his own twisted, insane way. So, I wanted to save him. He didn't let me save him, though. This is what messed me up. He wanted me to save him and then didn't let me. It just bugged the hell out of me.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Rosalie asked again, her hand on my back.

"One of us was going die," I replied somberly.

"One of you was going to die," she repeated clearly. "Thank God it wasn't you. Thank God you lived. Everything else is nothing." She placed her hand under my chin and forced me to look up at her. "The shit Edward went through while you were gone, Carlisle's injury - they're nothing. Everything that happened while you were with James - it's nothing. All of us, Edward especially, knows that anything you did, you had to do to stay alive. It also isn't as bad as it could've been. Nothing changes the fact that we couldn't be happier that you are here, back with the family."

"I'm sure Edward loves that I screamed for him to get the hell out when all he was trying to do was talk to me. That makes him really happy," I threw in sarcastically.

"Edward loves you. He couldn't stop loving you even if you screamed for him to leave your room every night."

She smiled and I couldn't help but think how amazing it was that a person could look so beautiful this early in the morning after spending half of it awake with a crazy person. Rosalie was the most gorgeous woman in the world, but also one of the smartest. She had kept her mouth shut the last few days, watching me, listening carefully to what I said to the others. She probably knew me better than anyone, even Edward, even my mother. She knew I was beating myself up all the time. She was here to stop me.

"But you aren't going to scream at him anymore. You're going to remember that you need some time to heal from all this madness. You're going to cut yourself a break. When you get back to Chicago in a couple days, you're going to start seeing a counselor. You're going to work through that crap in your head and then you and Edward are going to get back to your normal life. He's going to charm you with that devilish grin of his and you are going to let him love you because you are the most awesome woman in the world."

I rolled my eyes and she quickly scolded me with hers.

"You were willing to die for us, Bella. You were willing to let Aro do whatever he wanted to you so that my family and I wouldn't be hurt. You let James take you so Edward would be saved. I know you would trade places with Carlisle in a heartbeat. You are either completely suicidal or the most awesome woman in the world. Take your pick, but I'm going with you being totally awesome because otherwise it's Straightjacket City for you, sweetheart."

I couldn't help but snort at the thought of me in a straightjacket. It was slightly more offensive than thinking of myself as kind of awesome.

"Awesome it is. No straightjackets. You know how I hate wearing all white."

Rosalie nodded with a grin. "Not to mention all that material pulling and wrapping around, I'm sure your poor boobs would end up looking kind of smashed and that is not going to help you any."

I punched her playfully on the shoulder and then gave her a big thank you hug.

"I should talk to Edward. Do you think he's awake?" I looked to see what time it was. It was a little after 7:00.

"Do you want me to go check?"

"I don't know. Should I go out there?"

"Do you want to go out there?"

"I don't know. How was he last night? Is he mad at me? Or just freaked out by my freak out?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, Rose! Can you please stop answering my questions with questions? You know it is my biggest pet peeve! I freaked out half the night, slept a few hours, and have been talking to you since I woke up. What do you think?" I was beginning to get tired of her inability to answer me.

Rosalie was snickering to herself, which was nearly as infuriating as the answering with questions.

"Well, first let me say thank you for acting like yourself for the first damn time since you've been back. Second, may I remind you my dear Bella, I was in here with you while you freaked out half the night, watched you sleep in between freak outs, fed Lily, and have been in here talking to you since you woke up. Your guess as to Edward's state of mind is as good as mine."

Before I could say anything there was a light rap at the door.

"Come in," I called out.

The door slowly opened to reveal the very man who's state of mind we were discussing. Edward looked horribly disheveled. I imagined he had not really slept all night.

"Can I come in and check on you?" he asked sheepishly.

"Of course you can," I quickly replied. I knew Rosalie didn't think I should feel bad for anything but that look on his face made me feel like the biggest jerk in the world.

Edward stepped in the room and walked cautiously towards the bed. Rosalie slid off the bed, patted him on the back, and waved goodbye as she slipped out.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with an anxious expression on his face.

"Come here," I said, pulling myself up to my knees and meeting him at the end of the bed. He took his two strides to me and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He returned the gesture, carefully placing his arms around my waist. I pressed my cheek against his shoulder and tried to do what Rosalie told me to do. Stop blaming myself, stop worrying about everyone else, remember to be thankful that I could still do this.

"I'm so sorry," Edward began.

I pulled back immediately at those words.

"Stop," I demanded. Both my hands moved to his whiskery face. He didn't shave yesterday and that made him pretty scruffy this morning. His green eyes searched mine when I paused. "I'm not in a good place. My head is all screwed up. But it has nothing to do with you or anything you've done or not done. You have done right by me every step of the way. We need to go home and I need to get some help sorting this shit out."

"Whatever you need. We will do whatever you need, baby." It didn't surprise me how quickly he responded with his favorite three words. I think he says them now without even listening to what I say I need. He just wants to give me what I need so badly.

"Edward," I almost whispered. My fingers gently rubbed his tense jaw. "Relax. Please. I know I don't make it easy since I act like a schizophrenic sometimes. I'm sorry I freaked out again. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I had no reason to scream at you. You have been the perfect support. I love you so much."

"I love you. I love you more than anything," he said in a rush.

"I know. That's why I know we're going to come out of this ok. Right?"

He nodded in agreement. "Right."

"Then don't tell me you'll do whatever I need. Because I don't always know what I need and sometimes I think I know and I'm wrong. I thought I needed to make love to you last night because I owed it to you for putting you through hell when James took me. I thought I needed to prove to you that I was never going to leave again. Do I need to do that?"

He shook his head and grabbed my hands from his face. "I don't know what you need either. I've been going along with whatever you say because I figure you know better than anyone."

"You knew it was wrong last night and you stopped me."

"And you freaked out. You fell on the floor, crying, curled up in the fetal position. I don't know what to do when that happens. It made me think maybe I should have just made love to you."

I put my fingers to his lips. "No, honey. You did the right thing. Who knows what I would have done if we had sex last night. I wasn't in the right mindset and you knew it. You did the right thing. I freaked out. I have some work to do. I need to get over this guilt and shame. But please don't indulge me when you know I'm not asking for the right things. Don't try to avoid my mental breakdowns by giving me something I shouldn't have. I need you to be the voice of reason. I need you to go with your gut because you are slightly more stable than me at this point," I said with a tiny smirk.

His hands flew to my face and he pressed his forehead to mine.

"Oh, Bella. I never imagined it would be this hard. I thought the hard part was over but this, this is still hard." He pulled back just enough so our eyes could connect. "But I will never stop trying. I will always be here for you. I promise you."

Edward was my refuge, my home. He was my reason for making it through all the shit that has scarred me and he was going to be the reason I kept fighting to heal myself.

"I know," I whispered as I brought my lips to his. He kissed me soft and tenderly. I knew right then that I was going to be all right. There would be bumps in the road but Rosalie had set me on the right course and Edward was going to be there the rest of the way, helping me along, stopping me from turning the wrong direction. We would navigate through it together.

* * *

EPOV

I don't know what Rosalie did or said, but for the first time since Bella was back, I felt like I was talking to the real her. She was in there. My brave and fierce partner in this world. We were going to make it through this. Bella and I made arrangements to go back to Chicago the next day. Rosalie, thankfully, offered up one of the Hale jets to take Bella and me, along with Renee, home. Rosalie had been quite the secret keeper. Unbeknownst to me, she had seen to it that our condo was completely cleaned and the floor by the kitchen was ripped up and replaced. Rose refused to accept any money for it all nor would she accept our thank you, saying that it she had barely begun to repay us for all we had done the last month and a half for her, Lily, and Emmett. Still, her thoughtfulness was appreciated. I didn't think about any of that. We could have easily returned to a big, old bloodstain on the floor and who knows how Bella would have reacted. Instead, the place looked - normal.

We returned home with only two weeks until Christmas. Bella's captain saw to it that she got into the department's psych right away. She was going to have to go through some Mental Status thing in order to get approval to come back to work. The lady Bella saw, Dr. Reagan, said she thought after the holidays Bella could start back in the office and then work her way back into the field by February. Dr. Reagan suggested that she come to see her twice a week. The counseling was good for Bella. It sometimes made her a little more quiet at home but I figured as long as she was talking to someone, it didn't have to be me. I went with her one time and it seemed to be something they thought I should do with her every other week. I was planning on going with her again when we got back from L.A.

Part of me felt like I had spent enough time with my family to last a lifetime and the other part of me was glad we were all going to be together as planned. Strange how a few weeks ago we were sure Emmett, Rosalie, and Lily wouldn't be there. Then they all thought Bella and I were dead. I was returned home but Bella went missing for over a week. Somehow we find her half way across the country but then Dad got shot. I think we all knew that could have ended worse than it did. I decided we needed to all be together just to spite the powers that be that were trying to make our family gathering impossible.

Bella and I had fun shopping for Lily. We had considerably less fun shopping for everyone else. I hate coming up with gift ideas at Christmas. Emmett and Rosalie buy themselves everything they want or need. So do my parents. It's torture finding the right gifts for them. The only person I like buying for is Renee, because whatever I get her, she loves. Last year, I got her a Snuggie, before they became the world-wide phenomenon that they are now. Renee thought it was awesome. She uses it all the time. In fact, I thought about getting her the double Snuggie for her and Phil this year but decided I needed to be a wee bit more creative.

Christmas in L.A. is not like Christmas in Chicago. In Chicago, you've got snow, cold, and Christmas lights lining the Mag Mile. In L.A., you've got palm trees, sunshine, and a dude they call Butt Crack Santa that likes to hang out on Hollywood and Vine.

_Man, I love Christmas in L.A._

My mother had the house decorated like something out of a Martha Stewart magazine. How she found the time, I do not know. The woman is amazing. When Bella and I arrived the day before Christmas Eve, we were led up to the best guest room in the house. I thought for sure Emmett would have already gotten dibs since they were here first. I wasn't going to complain, though. Christmas Eve, the house was filled with the most wonderful smells. My mother was making a ham along with somewhere around fifty side dishes. I guess she was expecting Emmett to be hungry. My grandmother, Aunt Elizabeth, cousin Irina, and her husband Laurent were all over for dinner. Bella was busy in the kitchen helping my mother. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I watched the two of them working together, doing some kind of cooking dance. Mom would whip something up over at one counter then spin to the left while Bella spun the other way so she could wash some vegetables in the sink. They laughed and sang along to the Christmas carols playing over the house speakers. Emmett came sauntering in and started picking at the food sitting out.

Mom slapped his hand, "If you eat everything now, you won't be hungry during dinner, dear."

"Something tells me I need to eat all I can before we sit down to dinner," Emmett said ruefully.

"Why in the world would you need to eat before we sit down?" Mother asked with a knitted brow.

"No reason, Mom," he lied. I couldn't figure out why he was lying, however.

Bella finished scrubbing a squash and then turned to look at me over her shoulder. I shrugged not knowing why Emmett was acting so weird.

"Hey sis, your husband is looking for his pain pills and I don't know where they are or if he should even have then yet," Aunt Elizabeth said as she popped in the kitchen.

Mom sighed and looked at the clock on the microwave. "He's right. You could set your watch to that man's pain tolerance."

She opened a cabinet and pulled out a white bottle. She shook out two pills and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge. She stepped past Elizabeth and went to deliver the medicine to Dad. She was a saint, playing nurse to the crabbiest patient of all time.

I could see Bella's expression change when my mom got the medicine. She had been working hard at forgiving herself but there was still some lingering guilt. I could relate. Hell, he got shot saving me, not her. I stood up and walked behind her, placing my hand on her neck and rubbing her tense muscles with my thumb. She had her hair up in a messy bun. I placed a small kiss just behind her ear.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"I know. It's just you, surrounded by all this food. I had to come over here and get a taste."

She smiled and my mission was accomplished.

"So, what's up with you, Em? Why so worried about not getting enough to eat at dinner? Mom and Bella made enough to feed ten of you."

"Well, from where I'm going to be sitting, nothing is going to be looking very appetizing," Emmett said, shoving more food into his cavernous mouth.

"Where are you going to be sitting?" Bella asked turning around to watch his binge.

"Next to Gran," he said with a mouthful.

I was shocked. My mouth fell open and I had to shake my head to get the words to come out. "Next to Gran? Really? I thought for sure you were going to hold your one UCC win against us."

"We thought about it," Rosalie answered from the doorway. I didn't know she had joined us.

"Rosalie decided,"

"Uhhum," Rose cleared her voice loudly and gave my brother the death glare.

Emmett backpedaled, "I mean, _we _decided that even though we didn't officially finish the challenges, you two proved to be the Ultimate Cullen Couple by surviving a double kidnapping, interrogation by Aro Volturi, a huge ass shootout during your escape, another kidnapping, and an attempt on Edward's life. The fact that you two stand there, side by side, proves there is no beating you guys. You win. There is no challenge any of us can come up with that would be able to test your strength better than what you already went through."

Bella and I both stared at him. Emmett continued to shovel food into his mouth.

"You said yourself, Emmett and I would have been killed. If they had grabbed us and taken us, even as awesome as we are, they would have killed us. You are the only Cullens who could get out of something like that alive and you did it together. You guys win the title fair and square," Rosalie continued, walking over to the kitchen island and grabbing Emmett's hand away from the food.

"Babe, it's all so good. When we're at the table, we aren't going to want to eat it. Please. It's so good," Emmett pleaded. How did he not weigh 400 pounds?

Bella and I exchanged looks and then focused back on my distraught brother and his wife.

"So that's why we got the nice room? Wow," I said feeling kind of honored that they would think that way about us.

Bella wrapped an arm around my waist. "We'll accept the rewards this weekend but I think it's stupid that we tried to say one couple was better than the other. We are both damn good couples. From now on, there is no UCC. We take turns sitting next to your grandmother on holidays and we'll switch off on the good stuff; we're equals." She picked up a grape and threw it across the island right into Emmett's mouth. He smirked as he chewed it up.

"Couldn't we leave the seating arrangements alone?" I whispered in her ear. She had only let me enjoy the thought of not having to sit next to my grandmother for a measly 30-some seconds.

"Look at him," she replied, looking over at Emmett and Rosalie arguing over what he could eat before dinner. "It wouldn't be right to do this to him every family gathering."

I tried my pouty face but all it got me was a little kiss on the lips.

"Your grandmother is old, Edward. You guys won't have to do it forever."

"They won't have to do what forever?" my mother questioned, breezing back into the room.

Mother could never know we put sitting next to her mother up for bet. She would not be happy with us. Knowing her, she would make both Emmett and I sit next to Grandmother as punishment.

"Nothing, is it almost time to eat?" I asked, trying to play it off.

"You won't have to what forever?" she persisted with her hands on her hips.

"We won't have to listen to Laurent talk about his new hybrid forever. I'm telling you, though, if I hear the guy talk about how he's single handedly saving the planet one more time, I think I might tackle him," Emmett covered, popping some more fruit in his mouth.

Mother wagged a finger at us. "Be nice, you guys. It's not easy fitting in with you four, you know. He's just trying to make conversation. You guys sometimes speak your own language, giving each other looks that only you understand. People can't always follow what you're talking about. Not to mention everything that's happened recently. The extended family is a little afraid of what they can and can't talk about with you."

My mother, always the peacekeeper. She always wants everyone to get along all the time. She made me realize that the four of us were tighter than we'd ever been. All this life and death stuff connected us in a permanent way.

"I'm kidding, Mom. I promise not to tackle Laurent, ok?" Emmett walked over to her and lifted her off the ground, giving her a big, backwards hug. She giggled and begged him to put her down.

"Did someone say something about being uncomfortable around us?" I was curious about what she had said about them feeling afraid about what they can talk to us about. I knew Bella already felt nervous being around everyone, if they were feeling nervous that was only going to cause Bella more grief.

"Well, your aunt asked me if she should steer clear of anything having to do with the recent events. I told her that it was probably best to not bring it up. I assumed you all didn't really want to talk about it," she answered, glancing at Bella who was biting her bottom lip.

"I think it's good we just leave it alone," I said, placing my hand on the small of Bella's back. "I can talk about Laurent's hybrid and saving the environment all night long."

Mom and Bella went back to finishing things up. Rosalie pulled Emmett out of the kitchen so he wouldn't eat everything before dinner started. A few minutes later, my aunt and cousin came in and offered to help out as well. I grabbed Bella and pulled her upstairs under the guise of needing to clean up and change before we ate.

"Are you ok?" I asked when we were behind closed doors.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry that your family feels uncomfortable around me."

I pushed a strand of hair that fell from her sloppy bun behind her ear. I didn't want her to feel sorry. I was so tired of this woman feeling sorry.

"My family does not feel uncomfortable around you. My aunt doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. Please don't worry about it," I clarified. I kissed her cheek and then embraced her tightly.

"I hear what you're saying. Dr. Reagan says I need to listen to what people say and not jump to my own conclusions. I'm sure you're right. I won't worry about it."

"Say that again."

"I won't worry about it?" she asked pulling away slightly.

"No, the other part."

Her lips curved up in a knowing smile. "I'm sure you're right."

"Oh, say it again. That is so hot." I pulled her closer and nipped at her neck.

She giggled but didn't push away. "You are so right, Edward."

"God, I love that. Again, please." I slid my hands under her shirt and began planting kisses along her jaw.

Bella's hands fisted my hair. "You are right. You are so very right."

We hadn't been intimate since before Thanksgiving. Sometimes I think I might explode when I'm around her. That or my hand might fall off if I spend anymore alone time in the bathroom. This might not be the right time but until she told me to stop, I was going to keep going.

"No one is more right than you are," she repeated all breathless. It was really turning me on.

My mouth found hers and she kissed me back with equal need. I pulled her shirt up over her head.

"We need to change clothes," I said in between kisses.

"Right again," she replied, helping me out of my shirt, too.

Our mouths slammed together again and I started unbuttoning her jeans. I slipped my hands in the waistband and pushed them down over her hips. Before I knew it, we were both in our underwear, groping and making out like teenagers. I lifted her up and laid her on the bed. I hovered over her, taking in her perfection. Seeing her in only a white lacy bra and panties was almost enough to send me over the edge.

"I think we have enough time to exchange gifts before dinner," I whispered, leaning down to trail kisses across her chest.

Bella pulled her self up on her elbows. "I thought we agreed no gifts?" she huffed.

I gave her my lopsided smile. "Baby, the gifts we're about to give, you can't buy in a store. I was thinking I could give you a little of this," I teased, pressing my hips into her. Immediately I saw the flash of understanding in her eyes. "I'm also thinking about giving you some of this." I pushed her on her back again, palming her breasts as I ran my tongue along her collarbone. She moaned in approval. "I'm fairly certain that when I give you my gifts, I will get the greatest gift of all."

Bella lifted her hips to mine and almost "gifted me" before I was ready. She wasn't pushing me away, she didn't look nervous or afraid, so I went for it. I took off my boxers, and helped her slide out of her panties. She unlatched her bra and threw it aside. I climbed back on top of her and began kissing her on the mouth again. Skin on skin, there is nothing else like it in the whole world. Feeling Bella's body against mine was pure bliss. Sinking inside her was complete rapture.

"You're mom is going to be looking for us,"Bella whispered, somehow thinking clearly regardless of my attempt to turn her brain off for a few minutes.

I hitched her leg over my hip, pushing myself deeper inside. "I wish I could care but all I can think about is this," I mumbled between kissing her along the neck and trying to not forget how to breathe. "This is all I wanted for Christmas. Best present ever."

She wrapped both legs around my waist and raked her nails down my back. "You are so right."

She knew exactly what I wanted to hear. We were going to be a little late for Christmas dinner but neither one of us cared. Christmas would mark a new beginning for the two of us. A new year, a renewed life. Together. Always.

**A/N: Ah, happy again. Sorry if this chapter seemed a little all over the place. Wrapping things up is always hard. Coming up this weekend - the epilogue. Anyone wonder what happened to Victoria? Oh we'll find out. Thanks for reading!**


	44. Chapter 44 Epilogue

**A/N: I don't own Twilight.**

BPOV

"So, tonight's the big night?" Dr. Reagan crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair.

"It is. I'm not sure who's more nervous, me or Edward."

There was silence for a moment and then we both said at the same time, "Edward."

We laughed. Dr. Reagan didn't see Edward very often but she could read him like an open book. She figured him out in about two sessions.

"I wish I could play it off as well as he does. He'll be molesting his hair all night but that's the only thing someone might pick up on. I'm going to be wringing my hands or biting my nails, sweating, ready to pounce on anyone who says something less than positive."

"Why do you think you're so anxious?" Dr. Reagan asked, narrowing her eyes.

I thought about it for a second before answering. "I want him to do well. I want this to be what he wants it to be - his big break."

"Are you worried it won't be well received?"

"No, not at all, really. I mean, I've seen the pictures and they are amazing. He is so talented and this is going to be huge. I guess it's my controlling nature. I can't control the outcome, so I'm nervous. I believe everything will work out for the best but I have no real say in how it turns out. That's nerve-racking."

"This time it's Edward who's in control. He did the work, he put together the exhibit, he's the one who will have to defend it. He's going to do great."

"I know. I don't have to make things right for him. He's capable of making things right for himself."

"Well, listen to the new and improved Bella Cullen! _You don't have to make things right for him._ That's huge."

I smiled at her compliment. I had come a long way in three months. Seeing Dr. Reagan really helped. The only way to get rid of my guilt was to give up my control over everything. I had to admit that sometimes I don't have any control over certain outcomes. I can't stop people from making their own decisions and I can't always clean up their messes. Sometimes I have to let it go. That was not so easy in the beginning. I had spent a large part of my life trying to take care of things for other people when they couldn't or wouldn't do it for themselves, my mother in particular. I was doing that to Edward when we got married even though he could and wanted to do it for himself. I was so afraid of his reaction to anything bad that I tried to make all the decisions so I could be responsible for keeping him happy. In my attempt to protect him from every hurt and disappointment, I created a situation that made him feel inferior and undervalued. I was never going to let that happen again. Edward was my partner and my equal. He's more than capable of handling things. He has a right to his fears and worries. He might react irrationally or panic when things don't go right but that's all right. He's not going to kill himself. That was something that took me a while to believe. I never realized how fearful I was of that. James' suicide made it that much more of an issue for me. Through talking to Dr. Reagan, I figured out that the nightmares I had about James were really a manifestation of the fear I had about Edward. I knew now that Edward would never do that. No matter what happened to me, he would survive. Nothing was going to happen to me, though. I'm here to help offer support and give my opinion when he needed it. Just as he is there for me to do the same for me. I'm not perfect at not being overprotective but I'm getting so much better.

"Seeing Victoria tonight. Any worries about that?" Dr. Reagan jumped back in.

"I'm going to be seeing A LOT of Victoria. I mean, she's literally going to be everywhere."

"That bothers you?"

"Yes and no. I'm not jealous or anything. It's just that it's her night with Edward." I stuck my tongue out like I had a bad taste in my mouth.

"It's her night period. This is her birthday celebration. He was her photographer. That's all."

"Her photographer with whom she wanted to have lots and lots of hot sex, let's not forget."

"Lots and lots of hot sex that he refused to have with her because he is completely devoted to you, let's not forget," Dr. Reagan said pointedly. She glared at me again.

"I know," I answered like a petulant child. "Don't try to tell me it's not normal to have strong negative feelings towards someone who has tried to seduce your husband away because I know it is very normal. As a police officer, I see crimes of passion all the time," I argued, shifting in my seat.

"It's very normal but we have moved past that, right? She has moved on and now they have a very professional relationship. No need to feed negative feelings. No reason to commit a _crime of passion_ tonight."

"Edward said something to you," I challenged with a raised brow.

It was Dr. Reagan's turn to squirm a little. She pushed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and adjusted her glasses.

"He's a little worried about how you'll be around Victoria tonight. He might have asked me to bring it up with you and get you to look at the reality of the situation. He wants to make sure your bloodlust is completely under control."

"My bloodlust?"

Dr. Reagan punched the air in front of her like she was some prize fighter.

"I'm not going to hit her!" I exclaimed, totally appalled at the accusation.

"No matter what she says? No matter how she might provoke?"

"No! I can't believe you or he would even think that!" I said defensively.

"Edward might have mentioned how much you enjoyed the fact that Rosalie punched her and gave her a bloody nose."

"And he thinks I would make a scene like that at his big show tonight? He thinks I would ruin things for him like that?" I was kind of pissed. He had not talked to me about this at all. Although in his defense, I have been cracking some jokes lately and reminiscing about the bloody nose, maybe more than I should.

"He does not expect you to go in with the intention of ruining anything. He's worried about the unpredictability of what Victoria might do or say and the predictability of you only being able to handle so much before you lose it on her."

I closed my eyes for a moment. My husband ratted me out to my counselor. He had asked to talk to her a few minutes alone last week. I hadn't thought anything about it at the time. Now, I see it was because he didn't want to bring this up to me on his own. He was probably afraid I'd get all defensive and shouty, kind of like how I totally reacted when Dr. Reagan brought it up.

"I will let him know that if she pushes me to my limit, I'll leave before I do anything that I would regret. Thank you for letting me know what he's concerned about."

"No more bloody nose jokes?" Dr. Reagan said with a smirk.

"Fine!" I huffed. "No more jokes. I didn't know they were making him think I was going to punch her. She would have to do something really bad to make me lose my cool like that."

"I thought you just said you would walk away if she pushed you? Which is it, you'll walk away or punch her only if she says something really bad?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'll walk away, now that it has been pointed out to me that my husband would be mortified. I will walk away, I promise."

"So, how's work?" she asked, effectively ending the Victoria conversation.

"Good. Busy. Spring fever is getting the best of some people. We've had a couple assault and battery cases. One sexual assault. Garrett and I are getting along great. He's a good partner. Can't complain."

Garrett became my partner when I got back in January. Captain thought it was a good idea that we mix things up and not have me take the new person. I'm not sure who was more relieved, me or Garrett. He and Jared got along but Jared could annoy the hell out of him sometimes. I've wondered what would have happened if Garrett and I had been made partners when Peter left. What would have happened if James and I weren't partners but just worked in the same office? Maybe he wouldn't have fallen for me. Maybe he would have had an easier time killing me. If he hadn't been in love with me, he wouldn't have helped me escape. Things could have been very different. Having James as a partner was this necessary evil, without it we might not all be here.

"Your first sexual assault case since the kidnapping. Do you notice any differences in how you're handling it?"

"No," I answered immediately. "I wasn't sexually assaulted when I was kidnapped so why would I handle it differently?"

"Well, hello, Defensive. Have you met our friend Denial?" Dr. Reagan tended to use sarcasm with me when I refused to stop and think about things. Her sense of humor usually brought me back down from my high horse.

"Well, you seem to be implying that I would handle it differently because of what happened to me but I wasn't raped so that doesn't make sense."

"I did not imply that you would handle it differently, I asked you if you thought you handled it differently. I guess we need to talk about this, though. You still seem to have issues about what James did and didn't do to you."

I sighed loudly, frustrated that she wanted me to revisit this subject in particular.

"He did not rape me. I thought you believed me."

"How did I give you the impression that I don't believe you?"

I folded my arms in front of me. _"Have you met our friend Denial?" _I repeated in a mocking tone.

Dr. Reagan smiled, "Bella. I do not think James raped you. You have been very clear about that from the get go. I do think that you downplay what he did do to you and how it impacts how you see the world now."

She had said this to me before. There was nothing to downplay. He was basically nice to me.

When I didn't say anything, Dr. Reagan continued, "Did you think he was going to sexually assault you?"

I hugged myself tighter. "Yes."

"Did he ever threaten to sexually assault you?"

"One time." The memory of him throwing me down on the table when I tried to trick him came flooding back. He was so angry and he told me not to test his patience. That was definitely my warning that he would do something to me if I ever let him think he could have it.

"Did you believe him when he said it, did it make you afraid?"

I started chewing on my thumbnail. "Yes."

"Having the threat looming over you those eight days was traumatizing in and of itself, Bella. He didn't have to do anything, he created the fear in allowing you to think it was going to happen. He also did other things - held you, kissed you. Not sexual assault but a violation all the same. You prefer not to be held while you sleep anymore. He changed that for you, you can't tell me that's the only thing that changed. I wonder if you look at the victims of assault differently. If you look at the perpetrators differently. You sympathized with James and his desire for you. Do you think that will change the way you look at other men who take things too far?"

I had not looked at it that way. She was good. I had to pay more attention to my thought process. I took a deep breath and considered what she said. I tried not to look at her question as an accusation but as just a question. Nothing to get defensive about. She was asking me to be introspective, that's all.

"I'm not sure. It's definitely something to consider. I'll pay closer attention and get back to you on that one."

"Ah, Rational Bella returns. Thank you," she said with a nod. "Nightmares? Dreams?" Dr. Reagan continued, getting back to business.

"No, none lately. I don't even remember the last time I had one. Edward hasn't said anything about me saying things in my sleep. My nights have been good."

"Excellent. Anything else going on that you wanted to talk about?"

"Nope, things have been good."

Dr. Reagan uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Things have been really good. You have done really well, Bella. You've followed through with everything we've talked about. You've been using the coping strategies we went over. I think it's time to discuss reducing your time to once every other week. Edward can still come once a month, if you think that's necessary. You and I could meet for a few minutes alone and then we could bring him in on those days. Then the other session each month would be completely yours. What do you think?"

It wasn't that long ago that we went from twice a week to once a week and now she was ready to let me go to twice a month? I could feel the anxiety building.

"What's going through your head right now, don't censor," Dr. Reagan prodded.

"Am I ready for that? What if the nightmares come back? What if I need to talk about something and we don't have a session that week?"

"Well, let's address your concerns one at a time. Are you ready? Yes, I think you are ready. Like I said, you are doing everything we discussed. You are more than ready. What if the nightmares come back? Well, what if the world ends tomorrow? What if I get a flat tire on the way home tonight? What if those two Twilight actors are dating in real life and break up before they make the fourth movie, screwing up the chemistry completely?" she joked and I got her point immediately.

"Don't worry about the things you can't control. Deal with things as they come," I said almost robotically. These were things she has said to me time and time again.

"If the nightmares come back, we can talk about what to do about them then. Why would we stop moving forward just in case we have a setback?"

I nodded, seeing her point.

"As for what happens if you need me on an off week, then you call or page me, Bella. Things happen. I'm here if you need me, but again, why would we stop moving forward?"

"We shouldn't. It sounds good. I hate that I lost faith in myself. I have always handled everything on my own and now look at me freaking out because my counselor wants to see me twice a month instead of once a week. It's kind of pathetic."

"It's not pathetic. Maybe what you realize is you don't have to handle everything by yourself all the time. It's ok to let others help you. Maybe you even like it that someone else can help you. That's why you're freaking out a little. Asking for help doesn't make you weak,"

"It shows you're strong enough to admit that you can't always do everything by yourself," I finished her sentence for her. This was another thing she's told me time and time again.

"Watch your internal dialogue. Positive self statements, no put downs. Calling yourself or what you think pathetic, that's a put down. Try not to do that," she scolded.

"I'll try," I promised.

My head was spinning with all the things Dr. Reagan and I discussed as I walked up the stairs to our condo. I opened the door and could hear the music coming from the bedroom. I walked back there to find Edward lying on the bed with his arms covering his head.

"How's it going?" I asked coming over to the bed.

He moved his arms and propped himself up on his elbows.

"You're back. How was your session?"

"Fine. She wants me to start coming every other week instead of every week," I said, sitting on the bed next to him.

"Really? Already? Didn't you just switch to once a week?" he questioned. He had that same look of worry I probably had when she mentioned it to me.

"She says I'm ready. I couldn't really disagree, so," I swung my legs up and laid next to him.

"Wow. That's great, honey. I mean, you have been working really hard. You've done a lot of good work with her. I'm proud of you." He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Proud of me but still worried that I might punch Victoria tonight just to see her bleed?" I said closing my eyes. I could feel him move next to me and heard his sharp intake of breath.

"Don't be mad. I didn't know how to bring it up to you myself. I didn't want to get in an argument and I knew she could talk to you about it much more rationally than I could."

I opened up my eyes and smiled. He looked so afraid that I was going to attack him.

"I'm not mad. I'm sorry if my kidding around made you worry about what I'm capable of. I promise not to let Victoria get to me, no matter what. If she pushes me too far, I will simply leave. It is so not going to be a big deal."

"It's not going to be a big deal," he repeated and leaned over me to kiss my lips this time. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly to his hair so he wouldn't stop kissing me.

"I am proud of you," he said against my lips. "You have been facing all of this head on and I see how hard you're working to get better."

"Thank you. Today is about you, though. We are going to focus on your accomplishments today. Not mine."

He rolled off me and returned to his arm covering face position.

"What's wrong?" I asked, rolling on my side so I could face him.

"I'm nervous. I know Victoria loves it. Charles and Bree think it's fantastic but everyone is going to see it tonight. Everyone who's anyone. Some people are not going to love it and I know I have to come to terms with that but it's like putting your child on display knowing most people are going to think he's the cutest kid ever but other's are going to have a lesser opinion because they would have dressed him differently or cut his hair or bought cooler shoes. Something will not be to their liking and this is your baby, you know? Your creation and you want everyone to love it as much as you do even though that's impossible."

I laughed at his metaphor. Edward the proud papa.

"Cooler shoes, huh?" I smirked.

He laughed and dropped his arm, turning his body to face me.

"I want it to go over well."

"It will," I said, putting my hand on his cheek.

He leaned in and kissed me again. I could kiss Edward all day, all night, everyday. It was pretty much my favorite thing to do with my free time.

"Maybe we should just stay home and do this all night," he suggested, pulling away slightly.

I kissed him again and then jumped off the bed.

"No way buddy. I have faced my demons head on, you're doing the same. This is a good thing not a bad thing. You are going to hear so many compliments tonight you're going to need to call Emmett just to stop your head from exploding."

"Well, we have like three hours until we have to go, can you come back here and do that kissing thing some more? At least until we have to get ready?"

How could I deny him that much? I leapt back on the bed and finished what I started.

* * *

EPOV

I got to the gallery early so I could look things over one more time before the guests started arriving. It wasn't like I could change anything, but Bella stopped making out with me so there was nothing left to distract me at home. I went without Bella, who promised to show up when the party started. She figured the less time with Victoria the better.

"Edward. Are you excited? This is all very exciting. Victoria is excited. She's more than excited. She's over the moon, I tell you. You look gorgeous. Oh my. Of course, you always look gorgeous. You were probably gorgeous straight out of the womb. You are going to be the death of me, young man. The death," Charles spoke a mile a minute and began fanning himself while he talked.

I was wearing a light grey suit, white shirt, and a tie. I hated the tie but tonight was a formal affair. I was carrying a gift for Victoria. It was a silver picture frame. I would fill it with whatever she wanted. What else would she expect from her favorite photographer?

"Thanks?" I replied, not sure what to say to all his ramblings.

"Edward!" Victoria's voice rang out from my side.

"There she is, the birthday girl. I don't really believe that this is a fortieth celebration. It's impossible," I complimented and smiled.

Victoria was dressed in a short red dress, very short. It was sleeveless on one side and as she spun to show herself off, I could see that the way it was cut in the back exposed more skin. Then there was the zipper that ran from the top of the skirt to the bottom. One thing could be said about Victoria, she knows how to wear a dress and probably knows even more about getting out of one.

She was glowing. Her smile was contagious. "I cannot begin to tell you how fantastic everything looks. This exhibit will be the beginning for you. The beginning of something great."

"I'm happy that you're pleased with what we've done here. Your happiness is really all that matters. Tonight is about you not me."

"Oh, Edward. You're lucky I'm spoken for," she reached up and stroked my cheek. "I would love to give Bella a run for her money. Something tells me that mouth is good at more than just saying sweet things."

I'm pretty sure I blushed like a girl. "I could never keep up with you, Victoria. We are definitely better off friends."

She smiled wistfully, "Friends we are."

"Victoria, Bree won't let me eat anything and baby, I'm starving," a voice came from deeper inside the gallery.

"Bree, if he wants to eat something, let the man eat. He needs his strength if he's going to last all night."

Victoria's boyfriend came out from the back munching on a finger sandwich. Officer Stevens was the arresting officer who almost got taken down by my very tenacious sister-in-law. That night, he booked Rosalie and hooked Victoria. He was the reason that Victoria forgave me so easily. They have been going strong ever since that night and she was obviously smitten. He was a decent enough guy. He was young, buff, and madly in love with her. She finally found her other half. I have to admit I really was happy for her.

"Where's Bella?" he asked when he saw me. "I need to know I'm not the only civil servant here tonight. There's going to be so many white collar pricks here, I'm not sure I'm going to make it."

"Colin, please. The people coming tonight are my friends," Victoria said, sashaying over to him. "You are a police officer, a hero among men, not just some civil servant. You have as much social standing as anyone."

"With you on my arm, I'm the fucking king." He leaned in and kissed her passionately. I felt a little dirty watching it. They were a match made in heaven. A match made in some hot, porno heaven. I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't keep up with her. Victoria was too much woman for me.

I spent some time walking through the exhibit. It was good. There were some really beautiful shots of Victoria. People started arriving and Victoria was in her glory. I was talking to an older couple who had bought several photos from the gallery over the years. That's when I saw _her_ walk through the front door.

Rosalie sent Bella a package last week with a note that said inside was something for her to wear to this party. Bella wouldn't show me and swore up and down she wasn't going to wear it. Something told me she changed her mind and I was going to be indebted to Rose for the rest of my fucking life. Bella was wearing a dress. Not just a dress but some silvery, shimmering, sequined, V-necked dress that literally made my eyes pop out of my head. Bella wasn't going to have to hit Victoria with her fist tonight, she was going to knock her out by being the hottest woman here. Hell, Bella was the hottest woman in the whole city, the whole world. Rosalie knew exactly what she was doing. This was her ultimate revenge against Victoria.

I excused myself and made a beeline to my breathtaking wife.

"Remind me when it's Rosalie's birthday because I need to buy her the best present ever," I whispered in Bella's ear as I came up behind her.

She spun around and the depth of her V-neck almost made me take my jacket off and cover her up. No one but me should see her looking this good.

"I don't really know why I am wearing this. I feel like an idiot."

"Well, you look like an angel. If this is your way of getting me to leave early, you have succeeded. I'm ready to take you home, right now."

Bella laughed and pushed her chestnut brown hair over her shoulder. She was wearing her hair down in big, soft curls. She had no idea what she was doing to me.

"Be careful, I might just take you up on that and then who will take all the credit for this amazing exhibit?" She took me by the hand and we walked further into the gallery. I became exponentially more interesting with her on my arm. People were coming up to us from every direction.

We found Victoria and Colin near the back by the photos of Victoria in the buff. Big surprise. I could see Bella take a deep breath and have some sort of internal dialogue with herself. These would be her least favorite pictures.

"Holy shit, is that you, Detective Cullen?" Colin choked on whatever he was eating.

Victoria frowned and then quickly plastered on the most fake smile she could muster.

"Bella. Glad you could make it," she said without an ounce of sincerity.

"Happy birthday, Victoria," Bella replied smoothly. "You look stunning tonight, as usual."

I could see the vein in Victoria's neck bulge as she prepared to pay a compliment back to my drop dead gorgeous wife. It was killing her. It was killing her that Bella looked better than she had ever seen.

"You look quite nice yourself," Victoria managed to choke out.

"Nice?" Colin nearly shouted. "She looks incredible! If the guys from your district saw you right now, you would never hear the end of it. Wow!"

"The guys in my district know better than to discuss the way I look in a dress. They learned their lesson after Edward and I got married."

"I see why that ex-partner of yours snatched you up. Damn," Colin said before downing his drink. He had tamed Victoria in many ways, but she had a lot of work to do when it came to teaching him some manners.

Bella bristled at my side but said nothing.

"Colin, go get me another drink, please, and get yourself a water. I think you've had enough spirits for one night," Victoria said sternly. Once he was gone, she looked at Bella apologetically. "Forgive his insensitivity. He doesn't always think before he speaks."

"It's fine. I think I'm going to use the ladies room. I'll be right back," Bella squeezed my hand before releasing it. I immediately felt the loss of her touch.

"I'm sorry, Edward. He shouldn't have said anything about that. He wasn't thinking," Victoria apologized again.

"Apology accepted. She's fine. She's doing much better. We're past the worst of it, I think."

"I'm glad to hear it. I really am. I admit I've been jealous of her but no one should have to go through what she went through. I have to give her credit for being a real survivor. You two deserve to be happy." She touched my arm and this time sounded very sincere. It surprised me.

"Thank you," I replied unsure of where this little confession was coming from.

"I do hate that she looks so fabulous tonight. Could you keep her on the other side of the gallery, please? It is my birthday."

I couldn't help but snicker. Victoria couldn't help being, well, Victoria. "Whatever makes you happy. It is your birthday."

I waited for Bella outside the bathroom. When she came out, she looked a little downtrodden.

"The prettiest lady in this place should not look so sad," I said when she realized I was standing there.

She smiled. "I'm ok. I had a moment with myself. A little positive self talk. I needed to change up that internal dialogue."

"Dr. Reagan would be proud."

"Dr. Reagan would be teasing me relentlessly about this dress. I would be answering a thousand questions about my secret intentions and my ability to control my bloodlust," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Your bloodlust?"

"What did I think Victoria was going to say when I walked in wearing this? I knew I was provoking her. I just didn't expect it to be Officer Dumbass who would stick it to me."

"I don't think he was trying to stick it to you. I think he got foot in mouth disease because you are rocking that dress hard." I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close to my side. I kissed the top of her head and led her back into the main room.

"Victoria actually apologized, that was unexpected," Bella seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, well she isn't all bad. She apologized a second time when you were gone. Of course, she also asked that I keep you as far away from her as possible or the claws might come back out. The dress successfully provoked her. We have been banished to the other side of the gallery," I said with a crooked grin.

Bella's mouth fell open and then curved into a satisfied smile. "Banished, huh?"

"Banished," I repeated.

"Rose is going to love that." Bella was beaming and I would never have expected to be so happy about being banished.

We chatted it up with so many people all night long. The compliments were mind-blowing. No one had a bad word to say. I had several people try to commission me for jobs. People were handing me business cards and phone numbers. It was incredible. I felt like I was living a dream. I had the most beautiful woman at my side, showed off my best work to date, and was being offered new work left and right. It was a good night. One of the best. We did not cross paths with Victoria again except to watch her blow out her candles and give a little speech. She thanked me personally and had everyone give me a round of applause. I was flattered and tried not to let it all go to my head.

As the night began to wind down, I caught Bella texting furiously on her phone, wearing a very big grin.

"Dare I ask who you are exchanging texts with?"

Bella couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "Rosalie is more than pleased with herself. She kills me."

"I can only imagine," I said, sneaking a peek over her shoulder.

_I dare you to go up to that dinosaur and brag about how you didn't even need to wear a bra b/c your boobs are as perky as a teenager's!_

"What the hell? You aren't wearing a bra?" I asked, my eyes as wide as saucers. Bella punched me in the arm and typed a secret reply. I couldn't stop staring at her cleavage, trying to see some hint of a bra or something. "Seriously, if there is a lack of undergarments going on here, I might spontaneously combust."

"Rosalie is being a total bitch, trying to get me to be a bitch. Don't go overheating, sweetie."

I realized what Rose was trying to get her to do.

"Oh, Victoria's the dinosaur? That's mean. She's 40, not 400." I shook my head in disapproval. Women are so unforgiving.

"I'm not going to do it. Victoria looks incredible for her age. She looks incredible for my age!" Bella relented.

"I think we should go home, I'd rather not test your restraint. Plus, I have been thinking about what's under that dress all night long and we shouldn't test my restraint any more either." I pulled her into my arms and ran the tip of my nose under her ear and down her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. This was the smell I wanted to link with this memory. The success of tonight combined with the way my wife looked made me want to remember this night forever.

"Why wait until we get home?" she mused seductively.

I pulled on my tie because it became very difficult to breath all of the sudden.

"What did you have in mind Mrs. Cullen?"

"I have two words for you." She pressed herself up against me and her lips grazed my ear. "Private. Bathroom," she whispered. My eyes fluttered and I think I saw Jesus.

"I am going to love you forever," I said, kissing her hand like a gentleman before I took her to the bathroom to do very ungentlemanly-like things to her.

She smiled at me like I just promised her the world. I was so lucky, so fortunate to have her in my life. If I could give her the world, I would. She would have to settle for my heart and my complete devotion. She had them both.

She grasped my hand tightly and led me to the back of the gallery. "That's all I've ever wanted."

**A/N: That's it. The end! Thank you so much for reading this story. I have loved every minute of writing it. I've loved every review and comment and thank you for taking the time to pay me a compliment! I'm so sad it's over. I will be taking some time to focus on the real world for a little bit but I hope this summer to start another story because it does become kind of addicting! So if you enjoyed this story put me on Author Alert so you can read the next one I think up! I'd love to hear what you all think about this journey. Hopefully it ended satisfactorily. I decided since James went out in a bad way, one of our villains needed a happy ending. Victoria got her man and it wasn't Edward! Links to pictures of the two ladies dresses are on my profile page. Thanks again and sorry for the ramblings here at the end!**


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